Brazil set the bar high, Iran & England promise plenty more

FLOWING After 36 games, there have been 3.5 goals per match, something that hasn’t happened since 2005

KOLKATA: On the first day India showed heart, on the last New Caledonia made history.

In between, there have been numerous examples of teenagers with enough promise to go the way of Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic who has made the transition to playing with men look a lot easier than it is. And as game days came and went, India showed that while the question of whether it cares for football is one for the future, it sure does love this under-17 World Cup.

That Brazil would comfortably make it out of the group stage wasn’t unexpected. But the way Iran and England qualified for the round of 16 was. Iran’s dismantling of Germany could be the equivalent of the USA trumping England in the men’s 1950 World Cup.

Lincoln has shown that such a weighty name sits lightly on his 17-year-old shoulders after Brazil kicked off their campaign with a self-goal just like they did in the last men’s World Cup. And in Paulinho, he has an able partner to share attacking responsibilities just as in Gabriel Brazao they have a solid shot-stopper.

But from the time Allahyar Sayyad turned and rifled a rightfooter into the top corner contributing to a Guinea meltdown to how they punctured German pride with Younes Delfi’s brace would be mentioned every time there is a conversation about this World Cup. “My players got scared and showed too much respect to the opponents,” said Germany coach Christian Wuck.

Iran, the Asian runners-up, won all their group league games along with Paraguay, France, Brazil and England. The Asian champions, Iraq, too qualified from a difficult group; a 0-4 drubbing by England taking the sheen off a combative draw against Mexico and their clinical dismantling of Chile. “Who would have thought we would qualify,” said Iraq coach Qahtan Chitheer.

Neither France nor Paraguay could keep a clean sheet on way to topping their groups. England did that for two games, once without eight regulars. Their players made connections in the front third that could be the pride of several senior teams. And England coach Steve Cooper has given 20 of his 21 players game time. When Branimir Ujevic, head of the Technical Study Group, mentioned some dazzling wing play he could well have had England in mind.

Several teams have struggled