JOIN USEuropean powerhouse Germany bounced back from their shock defeat in the previous match as they beat Guinea 3-1 to qualify for the knockout round of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup here on Friday.
Germany scored through Jan-Fiete Arp (8th minute), Nicolas Kuehn (62nd) and Sahverdi Cetin (90+2), while Ibrahima Soumah got the lone goal for Guinea in the 26th minute in the final Group C match at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.
Germany, who had lost to Iran 0-4 in their previous match, finished second in the group with six points and qualified for the Round of 16. They face Colombia, who finished second in Group A, in the Round-of-16 match in New Delhi on October 16.
Iran, who beat Costa Rica 3-0 in another Group C match in Goa, topped the pool with nine points and an all-win record. Iran will take on one of the third-placed teams in Groups A, B or F. Guinea and Costa Rica were knocked out of the tournament with a point each.
In an open match, Guinea had more possession of the ball with 55 percent and even had more shots, but most of them were off target.
German captain Arp, who recently made his Bundesliga debut for Hamburg, gave his side an early lead as he fired a low shot past the goalkeeper after a Guinea defender made a blunder.
Guinea restored parity in the 26th minute with Soumah finding the target with a left-footed shot. Germany pressed hard towards the close of the first session but Guinea goalkeeper was up to the task. In the 42nd minute, Elias Abouchabaka’s left-footed shot from outside the box off an assist by Yannik Keitel was saved by Guinea goalie Mohamed Camara.
Germany then regained the lead in the 62nd minute off a quick counter after Arp set up Kuehn. Cetin converted a penalty in the second-half injury time to seal the issue for Germany.
Iran dominate
Iran, who had beaten Germany in their first match, maintained their form routing Costa Rica. The goals came through Mohammed Ghobeishavi (25th minute), Taha Shariati (29th) and Mohammad Sardari (89th).
Keen to top the group, Asian powerhouse played with five defenders and kept the rival attackers at bay.
After a brief period of midfield-battle, Iran slowly opened up the rival defence with raids from the flanks and Costa Rica started panicking, conceded two penalties in a span of four minutes.
With Iran coverting both thise chances, it was all but over for Costa Rica.