FIFA U17 W/Cup: Mali-France, Argentina-Germany in semi-final showdowns
Boys are being separated from bigger boys as the semi final of this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup takes centre stage Tuesday in Match day 15.
Mali tackle France while Germany face Argentina with places in the FIFA U-17 World Cup final up for grabs.
Argentina and Germany face off again while France take on Mali in Surakarta
The 24 nations who travelled to Indonesia at the start of November have been whittled down to just four, with a pair of semi-final match-ups set to decide which teams will contest the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™.
Argentina face Germany in the early kick-off, with the most commonly played-out FIFA World Cup™ final fixture set to determine which team will advance.
Both sides had to prevail in pulsating continental battles against Brazil and Spain respectively to make it to the last four, with their Surakarta showdown delicately poised.
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In the later game, France the only remaining side who have tasted victory at this tournament face perennial semi-finalists Mali.
France possess the tournament’s meanest defence and are yet to be breached in Indonesia, while Mali, for their part, have scored a tournament-high 14 goals.
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This will be just the fourth time Argentina and Germany have met at the U-17 World Cup and the first time in the knockout stage. The pair drew 1-1 in 1985 in the maiden clash, before Argentina claimed a 2-1 win in 2009. In their most recent encounter, Germany ran out 4-0 winners at Chile 2015.
Argentina versus Germany is the most commonly played FIFA World Cup final, with the nations having met three times in the beautiful game’s biggest match. A Diego Maradona-inspired La Albiceleste won the first clash in 1986, before West Germany claimed revenge four years later in Italy. In 2014, Germany then won their first title since reunification after a tense Maracana showdown finished 1-0.
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Of the four sides contesting the two semi-final games, only France have lifted the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Their sole triumph came in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001.
This will be the first time France and Mali have faced each other at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.