In a high-octane contest, two undefeated sides in Brazil and England clash with each other at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium, here on Monday for the first semifinal of the FIFA under-17 World Cup. Winning all their matches in their journey to the last four, both the teams will be upbeat about their chances to book their spot in the Final — three days later at the same venue.
Attack is the best defence
Apart from winning all their matches, one more striking similarity in the two football powerhouse is the firepower of their attacking line.
"Best thing about both the teams are they like to attack and play their own football," said Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu. "We have our own concept, we like to play beautiful football and they (England) too have strong players and play for goals."
Brazil's forwards, with nine goals among each other, have shown grit of grown-ups as they twice came from a goal behind to beat European heavyweights such as Spain (in group stages) and Germany (in quarterfinals). In both the comeback wins, 17-year-old Paulinho was the one who rose to the occasion to find the winner for the Samba Boys.
But to think Paulinho will be the only danger man in the line-up would be a mistake as lincoln has equally shared the spotlight since star player Vicinius Junior withdrew from the squad before the start of the competition.
"There are many star players in the Brazilian line-up," said England coach Steve Cooper. "To keep eye on just one player won't be a nice idea. You do that and someone else will do the damage to you."
But English coach won't be feeling any inferiority complex as their attacking arsenal is menacing in its own right. Apart from their clash against Japan — where it went to a penalty shoot-out after a stalemate, they have scored a plenty against all their opponents.
losing Jadon Sancho after group stages (due to commitment with his club Borussia Dortmund), England team did lose a pearl for the rest of the competition and it affected their game as they shot blank against Japan.
But a brace by liverpool's Rhian Brewster against a strong United States of America in the last-eight, which propelled them to a 4-1 win, brought the confidence back in the Three lions' camp.
Apart from him, Manchester United's Angel Gomes has been a key player in the attacking third. Coming to India after some valuable first team experience under Jose Mourinho, Gomes provided the much-needed skill, creativity and experience to fill the void left by Sancho's departure.
Midfield battle is the key
"In games like this, winning the midfield is the key to victory," said English coach Cooper. "Midfield is where all the action happens. Our aim will be to dominate the game, keep possession and build attacks and I am pretty sure they (Brazil) are preparing for the same."
Young lions' George McEachran will be an important part of Cooper's plan if he is looking to dominate the midfield. In a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Chelsea teenager plays the role of a centre midfielder who spreads the ball in attack from the heart of the field.
Being an agile playmaker, McEachran often creates chaos in opponents' defence with his sudden burst of intense pressing and open ups dangerous counter opportunities for his compatriots.
George and Gomes have more freedom in the attacking third, thanks to the hard work of defensive midfielder Tashan Oakley-Booth, who likes to sit back and guard the backline. A modern-day destroyer, the Spurs midfielder's form will play a key role in not just winning the ball from their counterparts but also to deal with the heavy pressure from the Samba forwards and midfielders.
The Brazilian midfield again will be relying heavily on their centre-attacking midfielder Alan Souza, whose late surge in second half created waves of attack for the forwards and he ended up assisting Weverson for the first goal.
Brazil looked a shadow of themselves when Souza seemed out of wit in the first half.
Brazil’s under-17 side features a flat back-four in most of the games as coach Amadeu has given a lot of importance to defending in numbers without the ball.
"We have an idea of how to play our game, and the plan is to attack when we have the ball and defend when we don't have the ball. This applies to every player in the team and they understand it well," said Amadeu.
Brazilians are playing at a stadium where they are loved like local boys, and that is not a secret.
"Brazilians had a lot of support in the last match. They played in a home-like atmosphere. It will be learning atmosphere for our boys (England) to play against a team with all that support. It will help them to adapt a lot for future matches as they will face such situation a lot later in their career. But I am confident this side will cope with that and play good football. And maybe make them support us," England coach Cooper chuckled.