In an evenly-fought blockbuster contest, Brazil rallied back from one-goal down to defeat Germany 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the FIFA under-17 World Cup in front of a 66,000-odd packed Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday. Paulinho's 77-minute screamer and substitute Weverson's 71st-minute equaliser gave the slender edge over the Die Mansnchaft Jann-Fiete Arp's penalty-kick goal in the 19th minute.
Any team could have won the match on the night as 29 shot attempts were made by both sides in the gruelling 90 minutes battle.
But Brazil (11 shots) were the one who made their chances count against their mighty international rival Germany (18 shots).
Being a consistent performer in this World Cup, Paulinho found the net for the third time in this competition — first in knockout stages as he scored a blinder when his team needed him the most. The goal became the highlight of his nascent but bright-looking career when he found lose ball two-three yards outside the box.
The Vasco da Gama winger curled the ball past goalkeeper luca Plogmann, who stood no chance, into the net.
Earlier from the kick-off, Brasil started the match as brightest of the two. With a huge crowd backing, the Samba boys played with a lot of intensity in attack and kept on pushing the German defence looking for an opening.
The first clear opportunity arrived for the Brazilian in the sixth minute when unmarked Alan Souza found the ball under his feet on the right of the post after a counter attack.
The number 10's shot did beat the goalkeeper lucas Plogmann but hit the far post and went off the box.
Soon the Samba attacking thrust dried off and Germany started dominating and exerted more pressure in attack.
Most of the penetration happened from the right flank when left-footed winger John Yeboah dazzled the Brazilian left-back lucas Halter with his trickery, skill and pace.
The persistent in the attack by Yeboah finally forced Halter to make a mistake in the 19th minute when he tackled the German winger, who was played free by Jann-Fiete Arp on right, from behind inside the box; referee immediately pointed for a penalty kick.
Skipper Arp, as usual, took the spot-kick and made no mistake in putting the ball into the net, sending goalkeeper Gabriel Brazao the wrong way.
Arp showed a lot of maturity in the attack, especially in the first 60 minutes as he remained a constant threat in creating chances and finding space in attacking third.
Brazil quickly got back in attack after the restart as Germans were happy with the one-goal cushion and got more tight in defensive third as Samba boys struggled to find the decisive pass inside the box despite nice one-touch buildups in the midfield.
Germans being opportunistic, played with patience to find the second goal from the counter and set pieces.
The plan seemed perfect as Christian Wueck's side came close to score from a corner midway through the first half when lars Mai heads his shot, from resulting corner, off target.
The action followed by a chance to makeshift winger Nicholas Kuhn — played as the right winger instead of suspended and star performer Dennis Jastrzembski- who was set up by Arp inside the box but a delay in shot decision making saw him running out of space for a shot.
But the best chance arrived in the 42nd minute for the Germans to double their lead. Played free on the right flank, Arp provided a dangerous cross inside the box, only to see it get intercepted by diving Brazilian skipper Vitao.
But the clearance was weak as it fell back to midfielder Elias Abouchabaka who made a cross too strong for Kuehn at the far post.
The missed chances cost dearly for the Germans as the Brasilian came back strongly in the second half.
They got back into the old rhythm, they showed early in the match and attacked with more purpose in the last 45 minutes.
German defensive wall stood firmly for the opening 10minutes of the second half but the tenacity of the Brazilians to give it all, coupled with a crowd getting boisterous by every passing minute, finally got better of the Germans in the 71st minute.
After finding no space from the middle of a narrow and packed German defence, Alan tracked the late run of half-time substitute Weverson on the left side of the post.
The Brazilian timed his shot well as the ball cannoned into the goal after kissing the woodwork.
Brazilian sensed the opportunity to find the winner after the equaliser as they kept pressing the nervous- and tired-looking opponents.
It soon paid off dividend as Paulinho found a lose ball outside the box and curled into the net for the winner.
With the crowd in Selecao's favour, Wueck's boys showed urgency in the closing minute to find the equaliser but never found a proper chance inside the box as their counterpart hold their ground firm till the final whistle. Brazil are probably the favourites to go all the way.