U17 World Cup: against Les Bleuets, the Aiglonnets of Mali aim for another final
The team of France and Mali will fight for a place in the final of the U17 World Cup, on November 28, on the occasion of the semi-finals of the competition. A clash that already looks set to be attack-oriented and which could ideally launch the Malians towards a first world title.
Ibrahim Diarra scored the winning goal against Morocco in the quarter-finals of the U17 World Cup on November 25, 2023. © Courtesy of FIFA
By: Valentin Berg Follow
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To each his own! As the U17 World Cup knockout draws up, three of the four remaining teams are aiming to clinch a historic first title. In addition to the promising match between Argentina and Germany, the Mali team will face France, the only team already titled, to try to clinch a place in the final.
The France team began its journey in this U17 World Cup with a clear success against Burkina Faso (3-0), followed by a narrow victory against South Korea (1-0) before recovering against the United States (3-0) in the group stage. Les Bleuets then emerged victorious from the clash against Senegal in the round of 0 by winning at the end of the suspense during the penalty shoot-out (0-5, 3-1 TAB). They eliminated Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals (0-<>) by scoring a goal in the final minutes of the match.
Already crowned champions in the competition in 2001, Les Bleuets will have to show great defensive solidity to resist the Malian attack, in great form since the beginning of this World Cup.
France 🇫🇷 and its solid defense are in the semifinals#U17WC
— World 🏆 Cup (@fifaworldcup_fr) November 25, 2023
Les Bleuets put to the test by Mali's attacking power
The last African representative of the competition, Mali is only one win away from playing the second final in its history in this category, after the defeat against Nigeria at the 2015 World Cup (0-2). To achieve this goal, the Aiglonnets will have to highlight the remarkable offensive efficiency they have shown so far in the competition.
They have scored no fewer than 14 goals in five games, starting with an opening 3-0 win over Uzbekistan thanks to a hat-trick from Mamadou Doumbia in the first match of the group stage. The young Malians then lost to Spain in the next match (0-1), penalised by the sending off of Doumbia, their number one attacking asset, in the 40th minute. This setback did not affect the rest of their tournament as they followed up with demonstrations against Canada (5-1) on Matchday 3 and against Mexico in the round of 5 (0-1). In the quarter-finals, the rematch against Morocco (0-81) took a long time to take shape, but in the end it was Ibrahim Diarra who sent his team into the last four thanks to a goal scored in the last minutes (<>').
A victory against France would allow Mali to advance to the final to try to win the first title in its history in the U17 World Cup and become the third African nation world champion alongside Nigeria, the most successful team in the competition with five victories (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015), and Ghana (1991 and 1995). Les Bleuets have been warned!
🎶 Today, they have reached 🎶
Mali ❤️ again pic.twitter.com/npuzgvMhlZ
— World 🏆 Cup (@fifaworldcup_fr) November 25, 2023
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