Abu Dhabi: In all big tournaments, the two teams that lose the semi-finals usually treat the third-place match as a mere formality. But on Friday night the fight for the third place at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup between Argentina and Sweden promises to be a tough encounter, as both teams have announced that they will do their best to end on the podium.
“Ending our campaign on the podium is enough motivation for our players despite losing the chance to reach the final,” Humberto Grondona, the coach of Argentina, who have never won the tournament, said. “I think it will spur the players for the rest of their career and in the stage of development they are at right now.”
Valmir Berisha, Sweden’s top scorer in the tournament with four goals, said: “Now the whole world knows about us and realises that the next generation of Swedish players can play some good football, and so we are desperate to end with a medal.”
Argentina have never won more than a bronze medal in this competition and hence repeating that feat will be regarded as an achievement, while the Scandinavians will celebrate wildly if they finish third because this is their debut in the tournament.
The contrast between the physical strength and aerial ability of Sweden against the South Americans’ flair makes for a thrilling encounter at 5pm on Friday.
Argentina, though, will be without their top striker, Joaquin Ibanez, and their goalkeeper, Augusto Batalla, who were both sent off against Mexico in the semi-final encounter.
Sweden progressed from the group phase as one of best third-placed teams, finishing behind Nigeria and Mexico, the two finalists.
Their two subsequent triumphs in the knockout stage — versus Japan in the last 16 and Honduras in the quarter-finals — saw Roland Larsson’s men arguably accomplish the most significant feat for Swedish football since the senior side claimed third spot at the 1994 Fifa World Cup in the United States.
In order to achieve a similar ranking and pick up a fourth win in a row, Sweden’s coaching staff will likely place their trust in the players who have most contributed to their fine results thus far: forwards Valmir Berisha and Gustav Engvall, as well as the midfield triumvirate of Elias Andersson, Erdal Rakip and Anton Saletros.
As for Argentina, their loss to Mexico was unexpected given their excellent performances in the competition up to that point. By recording four consecutive victories after their opening draw with Iran, the South Americans were, prior to their semi-final, just one of two unbeaten teams (alongside Nigeria) left in the competition.
Taking into account the setback, coach Humberto Grondona will have his work cut out motivating his players and will doubtless stress that the previous result was nothing more than the proverbial bad day at the office.
