Echeverri’s hat-trick helps Argentina rout Brazil in U17 WC

JAKARTA: Argentina stunned Brazil 3-0 at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) to enter the Under-17 FIFA World Cup semifinals, thanks to a hat-trick scored by Claudio Echeverri.

This is Argentina’s second successive win over Brazilian opponents in less than a week thanks to Nicolas Otamedni’s towering header earlier this week that helped the senior men’s team secure a 1-0 win over Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers at the Maracana.

The U17 Argentine team maintained dominance in possession with a total of 18 shots at goal, compared to the Brazilian squad’s 14 shots, reports media.

In Tuesday’s semifinals, Argentina is set to face Germany, which earlier earned a hard-fought victory against Spain, winning 1-0 after a goal from Paris Brunner’s penalty kick in the 64th minute.

The game also took place at JIS stadium with Spain dominating possession, notching up 22 shots, as compared to Germany’s five.

Spain’s goalkeeper Raul Jimenez received a red card after committing a hard foul on the German midfielder in the 101st minute. Germany’s centre-back Finn Jeltsch said, “Everyone gave everything, you could see that with how we ran and every tackle we put in. It was an incredible team performance.

When asked to pinpoint the key quality that has underpinned Germany’s incredible success in the tournament, one word repeatedly crops up from both coach Christian Wuck and his players, and that is mentality.

“The belief is here, as it was at the Euros,” Wuck told FIFA. “Maybe we are the best team in believing. We don’t think about losing games, we think about winning. Mentally, we have been strong. Now, we are in the semis, we want to stay until December 2, play in the final, and win.”