First match of the Brazil in FIFA U-17 World Cup was also marquee match of the tournament where they took on Spain in a Group D match at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi in which Brazil won over Spain at their first group match by 2-1.
Spain took an early lead through a Wesley own goal and it seemed like Spain would easily win the match till Brazil’s Lincoln equalised for the Latin American team. Brazil came back strongly in search of an equaliser and dominated the rest of the first half. They found the equaliser in the 25th minute, when Lincoln tapped in from close range after his initial effort was saved by the keeper. They found the second in the dying moments of the first half, when Paulinho got to the end of a chipped ball from Marcos Antonio and beat the keeper from a one-on-one situation.
Spain, who had five players from the famous La Masia academy and four from the Real Madrid academy, were hit hard by the high humidity of Kochi while the Brazilians were able to cope with the situation as they had been in India for more than 10 days.
Spain did better in the second session and pressed hard for the equaliser, but Brazil defence stood firm.
The absence of Vinicius Junior was not felt as Brazil’s attacking trio of Lincoln, Paulinho and Brenner played better than their Spanish counterparts. Alan and Marcos Antonio gave the trio enough support.
