International Football
THE U17 WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE IN NUMBERS
The FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil enters the knockout stage this Tuesday as Angola takes on Korea Republic while Nigeria will face Netherlands in the Round of 16.
So far, 36 of the projected 52 matches have been played. The road to the final matches continues.
In the meantime, FIFA.com rounds up the most fascinating stats from the first round, which was played out in Brasilia, Vitoria and Goiania.
Battle for Golden Boot
4 The number of goals Australia’s Noah Botic has scored to date, giving him the lead in the race for the adidas Golden Boot at Brazil 2019. Just behind him on three are Senegal’s Pape Sarr, Mexico’s Efrain Alvarez, Italy’s Degnand Gnonto and Nigeria’s Ibrahim Said.
Average Goals per Game
3.42 The average number of goals per game in the group phase: 123 in 36 matches, putting Brazil 2019 in the all-time U-17 World Cup top five for the time being. Egypt 1997 and Finland 2003 lead the way with 3.66 goals per match each.
The Best Defence
0 The number of goals conceded to date by Japan, the only team to keep clean sheets in all of their group games. Their solid rearguard and the performances of goalkeeper Zion Suzuki are the reasons for that perfect record. The Japanese have now gone 367 minutes without conceding in the competition, a sequence that stretches back to India 2017.
The Highest Number of Assists
3The number of assists served up by Paraguay midfielder Rodrigo Lopez, more than any other player at the tournament so far.
The Youngest Scorer
15 years, 11 months and 23 days. That was how old Italy’s Degnand Gnonto was when he scored against Solomon Islands on the opening day in Group F. With that goal, the Inter Milan forward became the youngest player to find the back of the net in the group phase at Brazil 2019
The Fastest Scorer
52 – The number of seconds on the clock when Paik Sanghoon gave Korea Republic the lead against Chile in the final round of games in Group C. The goal was the fifth fastest in the history of the competition, some way slower than the nine seconds it took Brazil’s Fabinho to score against New Zealand at Korea 2007.
Over A Dozen of Penalties
14 – The number of penalties awarded in the 36 group matches. Twelve of them resulted in goals while the remaining two were saved in some style: Italy goalkeeper Marco Molla denied Mexico’s Israel Luna and USA’s Chituru Odunze did likewise to the Netherlands’ Kenneth Taylor. Both keepers dived to the left to pull off their superb stops.
A Feast of Goals
8 –Mexico’s 8-0 defeat of Solomon Islands, which secured their place in the last 16, is the third-largest win in the tournament’s history. Nigeria beat Canada by the same scoreline at Japan 1993, while Spain hold the outright record courtesy of a 13-0 win over New Zealand at Egypt 1997.
Cautions and Expulsions
115 – The number of yellow cards shown by referees—an average of 3.19 per match. Eight red cards have also been issued.
Milestone Match
700 – Paraguay’s victory over Italy on the final matchday in Group F was the 700th match in the history of the tournament, which began as a U-16 competition in 1985.
Netherlands’ Return
14 – The number of years that the Netherlands have taken to return to the last 16. The last time they did so was at Peru 2005, when they went on to finish third. In between times they were knocked out in the group phases at Nigeria 2009 and Mexico 2011.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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