The top two teams of the U-17 football World Cup meet face to face at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata today. The competition between Abel Ruiz of the all skilful and attacking, Spain and England’s newfound prodigy Rhian Brewster would be a visual delight for all the football lovers…
Spain Vs England
Spain – A very confident side under coach Santiago Denia. The player to watch out for in the Spanish camp is Abel Ruiz. At the age of just 17, Ruiz is a classic player and an attacking goal scorer. He hails from Barcelona and is now the focus of attention for Spain after his two goals scored in the semi-final against a strong Mali side.
It is a known fact that Spain has the capability to possess the ball for longer periods, but only possession of the ball would do no good unless they end up creating several attacking moments and convert them into goals.
The side is up with a lot of confidence going into their final game against England, and the players’ newly created WhatsApp group name also suggests so. The team have named their WhatsApp chat group “India 100 percent”!
England – This English side would want to go all out in stopping the Spanish attack. Both the teams rely on their respective strikers. England’s Rhian Brewster and Spain’s Abel Ruiz would be on top of the watchlist. Both the teams’ midfield game would be very crucial in this match, and it would be exciting to watch which team excels in creating more opportunities from the middle of the football field and are able to successfully feed the ball to their team’s respective star strikers, Ruiz and Brewster.
England has won all their matches in leading up to their final match against Spain whereas Spain has brought in the momentum into their game at the right time. There has been a lot of improvement in Abel Ruiz’s game post their defeat against Brazil in their first match.
Also, the English side has been playing with a lot of ground passes as against how they conventionally play using long balls and in their usual kick and run style.
ENGLAND VS SPAIN FACEOFFS – STATISTICS
This is the first time England would be facing Spain in the U-17 World Cup. However, they have played against each other seven times in the U-17 Euro matches. Below were the results:
| 2002 | 3rd place | England won 4-1 |
| 2003 | Group match | 2-2 draw |
| 2004 | Semis | Spain won 2-1 |
| 2007 | Finals | Spain won 1-0 |
| 2010 | Finals | England won 2-1 |
| 2016 | Quarter Finals | Spain won 1-0 |
| 2017 | Final | Spain won 4-1 in a tiebreaker |
Both the teams are evenly poised for the finals, and both have a 50:50 chance of lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy, 2017!
