By Victor Kanayo
Germany’s U17s team on Saturday beat France 4-2 on penalties to win the 2023 World Cup staged in Indonesia.
Hostilities had ended 2-2 after 90 minutes.
It was only the second time after 1985 (a 1-0 loss to Nigeria) that Germany had reached the final of the U17 World Cup.
Firm German Control
Germany took control of the game from the start and created a number of chances.
It took just four minutes for the French defence to be breached, but Paris Brunner’s goal was ruled out for offside.
His effort after 29 minutes did count, though, putting away a penalty after a VAR review for a foul on Bilal Yalcinkaya.
Germany took the lead from the penalty spot on 29 minutes through forward Paris Brunner.
They doubled their lead just after half-time when Noah Darvich pounced on the ball at the far post and managed to score from a tight angle.
However, France hit back immediately after, with midfielder Saïmon Nadélia Bouabré cutting in from the left and slotting home past German goalkeeper Konstantin Heide.
France were handed a further lifeline when Germany midfielder Winners Mark Osawe was shown a red card on 69 minutes, and they levelled the scores on 85 minutes through Mathis Amougou to force a penalty shootout.
Mali Subtle Clincher
Earlier, Mali swept aside Argentina to clinch the bronze medal at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Hamidou Makalou, Ibrahim Diarra and Mamadou Doumbia were on target for the dominant African side in Surakarta.
