Dominant Germany plunder Colombia, make quarterfinals
JannFiete Arp scores twice to spearhead Germany’s triumph over errorprone South American rivals
NEWDELHI: Colombia’s penchant for playing possession football is something that fans were aware of even before a ball was kicked in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. However, the opening day loss to Ghana saw Colombia coach Orlando Restreppo switch tactics and look to create more chances instead of focusing solely on keeping the ball.
However, they slipped back into old habits in their crucial Round-of-16 match against Germany and paid the price.
Germany sat back and waited patiently for their chances to come. Led by star striker JannFiete Arp, who scored two goals either side of half-time, they exhibited a ruthless streak that saw them score four goals and coast into the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Colombia started the game by keeping the ball efficiently. They even had two good chances in the opening minutes. The first came when Deiber Caicedo failed to connect with a volleyed attempt with the goal at his mercy.
The next chance fell to Juan Penaloza, who found himself in the middle of the penalty area but his shot went too high. That was as good as it got for Colombia as Jann-Fiete Arp gave Germany the lead in the seventh minute.
MISTAKES COST DEAR
The theme of the game for Colombia was making costly errors. Three of the four goals were down to them committing mistakes when they really shouldn’t have, with Germany gleefully pouncing on the chances.
The first of those errors led to the first goal. Colombian goalkeeper Kevin Mier failed to hold on to a routine shot and the ball fell to Arp, who wasted no time slotting home to give Germany the lead against the run of play.
Germany were then content to sit back and invite Colombia to push more men forward in search of an equaliser. Colombia failed to take advantage, not in least due to the fact that the way the German defence was organised meant they were reduced to taking shots from distance.
Germany’s second goal came from a corner when the first half was nearing its close. A perfectly-delivered cross from a corner by Shaverdi Cetin found Yann Bisseck, whose picture-perfect header was enough to send them into half-time with a 2-0 lead.
The third and fourth goals were once again down to Colombia foolishly losing possession in their own half. Jann-Fiete Arp unselfishly squared the ball to John Yeboah after Colombia gave the ball away in a dangerous area to all but seal the game.
It was Arp who put the exclamation point on the win, scoring with a beautiful chip after yet another Colombia error saw them give away the ball to Germany. The skipper was then substituted with 20 minutes to go and was duly given a standing ovation, having played a key part in his side’s win.
Colombia managed to create a few decent chances towards the end of the goal but couldn’t trouble the scoreboard, with Germany running out deserved winners in a one-sided encounter.