Ghana down debutants Niger 2-0
Two-time champions Ghana outplayed fellow African side Niger 2-0 to enter the quarterfinals of the FIFA U17 World Cup, in Navi Mumbai. Goals by captain Eric Ayiah off a penalty in the first half added time and substitute Richard Danso in the 90th minute helped Ghana win the rough and tough round of 16 game at the D.Y. Patil Stadium after dominating play almost right through. Ghana will take on African champions Mali in a repeat of their continental qualifying event final in the quarterfinals on October 21 in Guwahati.
Debutants Niger, who lost to Ghana 5-6 on penalties in the African U-17 tournament in May, had to defend stoutly against the fleet-footed Ghana trio of captain Eric Ayiah, Edmund Arko-Mensah and Emmanuel Toko. The losing team's hero was their goalkeeper Khaled Lawali who time and again came to his side's rescue to stop goal-bound shots with his agility and positional sense.
In fact, the excellent goal-keeping by Lawali and robust defending by the back four kept the two-time champions at bay for almost the entire first half till they conceded a penalty in the added time.
Ghana continued to hold sway in the second half although they lost defender Bismark Owusu because of an injury. The penalty was awarded when Toku, the other highly impressive player, was brought down on the right side of the box by Niger's Farouk Idrissa. But Ghana were not to be denied their second goal, which came from a peach of an effort, off a long range shot by substitute Richard Danso who unleashed a right-footer that went past the palms of a leaping Lawali to bulge the net. Danso scored immediately after replacing Toku just before the end of 90 minutes of play.
Brazil will meet Germany in quarters
Two goals by Brenner helped Brazil enter the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, after they defeated Honduras 3-0 in Kochi on Wednesday evening. The Selecao will now be up against Germany in the last eight in Kolkata on Sunday.
The South American champions started off on a swift note and, deservingly, opened the scoring in the 11th minute, with Brenner guiding Alan’s low cross into the Honduras goal.
Brazil scored a second goal just before the break, as Marcos Antonio took Paulinho’s fine through-ball and slotted a first-time finish past Honduras goalkeeper Alex Rivera.
Brazil further extended their lead through a second goal from Brenner in the 56th minute. The Sao Paulo striker was in the right spot to knock home a loose ball for his third goal of the competition.
