FIFA U17 World Cup

MUTU

The U17 World Cup is under way. Germany's captain, Toni Kroos, who plays for Bayern is having a good time. Germany drew 3-3 with Colombia, with Kroos giving an assist. In the second match today, Germany won 3-2 against Ghana, and Kroos scored twice!

He's quickly moving up the rankings on http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/statistics/players/topgoals.html which is wonderful, especially considering that he's a midfielder not an attacker.

FC Bajern

video of Ghana(U17) vs Germany(U17)

Link

MUTU

Germany won 5-0 against Trinidad and Tobago, with Kroos rested on the bench, but 2 other Bayern youths (Mehmet Ekici and Matthias Haas) played the full 90 minutes.

Tomorrow there's the round of 16 knockout match against USA. Whoever wins will play the winner of the match between England and Syria in the quarterfinals.

MUTU

Woohoo Germany beat England 4-1, with Toni Kroos bagging another goal for Germany.

MUTU

Video of Germany vs USA

Link

FC Bajern

Next game in the semi-finals against African Champions, Nigeria on September 6th.

FC Bajern

MUTU

Yesterday, Spain beat Ghana 2-1 after extra time. Today there will be the second semifinal between Germany and Nigeria.

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In-form duo face off in semis
Thursday's semi-final in Suwon sees Nigeria, who have won all five of their games at Korea 2007, take on Germany, themselves with four straight wins after drawing their opening game. Though both teams are in exceptional form, for one Thursday's meeting will mean the end of their world title aspirations, and for the other a berth in Sunday's Final in Seoul.

The game
Nigeria - Germany, Suwon, Thursday 6 September, 19:00 (local time)

The stakes
Nigeria have scored 13 goals and conceded just three in their five games to date - a measure of how much they have dominated their opponents. Leading the line for the the Africans have been Macauley Chrisantus, currently tournament top-scorer on six strikes, and super-sub Sheriff Isa. Also instrumental has been skipper Lukman Haruna, who has caught the eye with his ability to control the pace of games. After eliminating a strongly-fancied Argentina side 2-0 in the quarters, the Golden Eaglets are confident they can deal with Germany and move a step closer to securing the trophy.

Germany are sure to provide tough opposition, as their record of 17 goals scored and only 7 conceded suggests. The Europeans were particularly impressive in the second half of their quarter-final rout of England, scoring four goals and confounding those who had predicted a very tight contest (4-1). That victory owed much to the performances of Richard Sukuta-Pasu, Toni Kroos and Dennis Dowidat, and should Heiko Herrlich's charges dominate midfield again in their semi-final, their opponents could be in for a very tough night.

The players
Nigeria have no injury woes but captain Lukman Haruna, keeper Laide Okanlawon and midfielder Kabiru Akinsola would all miss their next game with a yellow card on Thursday. Over in the German camp, skipper Toni Kroos and midfielder Dennis Dowidat are in the same boat and will also need to tread carefully in Suwon.

The past
All told, Nigeria and Germany have met six times at different levels, with Germany holding a small advantage with three wins, one draw and two defeats. In a friendly between the two senior sides held in Koln in April 1998, the Europeans came out on top 1-0.

This is their second meeting between the countries at a FIFA U-17 World Cup. Their first came at the inaugural tournament in China in 1985, when Nigeria downed West Germany 2-0 to take the title in front of 80,000 fans in Beijing.

The words
"Everything's going according to plan. From our preparation, we know that Germany maintain a very high level of performance. All the teams in this tournament have been strong, but the Germans have been particularly impressive in terms of teamwork. That said, our side is strong in every respect and even if we had a weakness, I wouldn't be telling you. One thing I'm certain of is that we'll win on Thursday." Yemi Tella, Nigeria coach

"We have no weaknesses in our team. Germany's defence is strong but we'll make sure we score and win." Macauley Chrisantus, Nigeria striker

"Nigeria is a very physical and skillful team. As African Cup winners they had a tough qualifying and will be a strong opponent in the semi-finals. We - as fifth of the European Championships - are the underdogs, that's obvious. But we did well in the tournament up to now and my players will do everything to make it to the final. It will be a very interesting match." Heiko Herrlich, Germany coach

MUTU

The match will kick off 12pm CET (CET is the timezone that includes Germany, so you can use that to calculate what time it will be for you),

In case you're still wondering, the match starts at 7pm in Suwon. To check what the time in Suwon is NOW, click here.

mackoy

You can watch the mathc live on Eurosport 1

FC Bajern

Nigeria 3-1 Germany, Sad

Kroos scored again for Germany

MUTU

The keeper was largely at fault in the goals that Germany suffered Sad

Germany also hit the post. Good goal by Kroos, who took his personal tally to 4 goals and 3 assists in 5 matches playing as an attacking midfielder!

mackoy

I was very impressed with this Nigerian team. I think they will beat Spain and win the cup even though I didn't see Spain playing. They are physically strong and very fast and have great shooting power!

FC Bajern

Ghana Vs Germany

Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Korea

Sunday 9th September 2007, 4:00pm (local time)

MUTU

Final score: Germany 2-1 Ghana. Kroos scored another goal for Germany, taking his tally to 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 matches played as an attacking midfielder against the best players in the world in his age group... an amazing feat!