Spain Leave Iran Red in the Face

Spain booked their place in the last-four round of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 with a scintillating 3-1 win over Iran in their quarter-final clash held at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.

Abel Ruiz scored in the first half before Sergio Gomez and Ferran Torres scored sealed the game for Spain in the second half to drain confidence off an unusually defensive Iranian attack.

Substitute Saeid Karimi scored the only goal for the Cubs but in the end, La Rojita reigned supreme.

Santiago Denia named an unchanged side for the crucial knockout match against Iran. Abel Ruiz led the line with help from Ferran Torres and Sergio Gomez from the flanks. Mohamed Moukhliss who has been ever-present in the tournament joined up with the equally impressive Cesar Gelabert in midfield.

Abbas Chamanian made three changes to his side that outscored Mexico in their Round-of-16 fixture. In-form striker Allahyar Sayyad and Hosseinzadeh led the line for the Cubs with Younes Delfi ineligible for the tie due to suspension.

Spain were quick to get on the ball and pass it around like they have always done in Kochi. There were no signs of knockout nerves and the inevitable opening goal came in the 13th minute.

Sergio Gomez freed himself from his marker on the right before finding an unmarked Abel Ruiz in the centre of the box who found the net on his second attempt on target.

Mohamed Moukhliss and Antonio Blanco bossed the centre of the pitch as they rendered the midfield efforts of both Mohammad Ghobeishavi and Mohammad Sharifi useless throughout the first thirty minutes.

With 10 minutes to go before the break, Cesar Gelabert had the perfect opportunity to double his side’s lead when the ball fell perfectly for the attacking midfielder inside the box but the Iranian goalkeeper Ali Zadeh was quick to come off his line and block the attempt using his body. Spain will now face Mali in the semi-final.