Germany win FIFA U-17 World Cup after penalty

2023.12.02

Germany defeated France to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time thanks to a winning penalty kick from Almugera Kabar.

Goals: Paris Brunner (29) pen, Noah Darvich (51); Saimon Bouabre (53), Mathis Amougou (85)

Player of the match: Konstantin Heide (GER)

Germany defeated France in a thrilling penalty shootout to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time in Surakarta.

The Germans led 2-0 with to goals from Paris Brunner and Noah Darvich, but Winners responded with a fast goal from Saimon Bouabre and a red card. After Osawe turned the tide in France’s favor, Mathis Amougou equalized in the 85th minute. Still, Germany would win a crazy 4-3 shootout to secure the victory.

The European champions got off to a fast start in the match and appeared to have taken the lead when Brunner fired home a close-range shot, but the assistant flagged the goal out for offside during the build-up.

But Brunner would not be denied long. Following a game of penalty-box pinball, Aymen Sadi was knocked down by a nipped pass from Bilal Yalcinkaya, who nipped in front of him. Just before the half-hour mark, referee Espen Eskas awarded a spot-kick, which Brunner easily stroked in after an on-field review.

Not to be outdone, Germany would shortly after the interval double their lead. Although the ball didn’t find its mark after Max Moerstedt burst down the right and fired a tantalizing pass searching for Brunner, skipper Darvich followed up to turn it home from a tight angle.

France looked to have come alive after that goal and almost instantly found a way back into the match. Barely two minutes later, Bouabre cut the deficit in half by dribbling past a German defender down the left and launching a fantastic strike into the bottom corner.

The change in momentum was further highlighted when, in the 69th minute, Osawe was sent off for a second card after a late challenge on Ismail Bouneb.

Five minutes from time, France would ultimately be rewarded for their persistent efforts. After a wonderful one-two, Tidiam Gomis broke away down the right and sent the ball across for Amougou to score from close range to send the game into a shootout.

But Germany would again be blessed with a goalkeeper in Konstantin Heide, who turned away two penalties from France so that Almugera Kabar could calmly convert the game-winning penalty.

Stat

Germany has emerged as the inaugural European country to secure both the continental and global championships concurrently.
Citation

It was an all-out battle. In a game like that, a send-off is bittersweet. I had to give up something and come off, but as a team we did it flawlessly. In the penalty shootout, Konsti [Heide] once again showed amazing skills.”
Goal scorer and captain of Germany, Noah Darvich.

@charith