Portugal and Austria have one more hurdle to navigate through in their quest to win the FIFA u-17 World Cup, holding in Qatar, following their respective Semi-Final victories in the ongoing age grade soccer competition.
The two European sides, who book their place in the final of the competition – their first time of doing so, made sure that a new winner will be enshrined into the competition’s history
In the group stages, the young Selecao side thumped New Caledonia 6-1 in their opening game after falling behind in the game before a 6-0 win over Morocco before edging Japan 2-1 in a highly contested game.
Portugal ensure a 2-1 win over Belgium in the second round before getting over Mexico 5-0 in the next around. Brazil proved to be difficult for the European side but were knocked out in penalty shootout, paving way for a final fixture appearance for Portugal.
Austria began their campaign with a well deserved 1-0 victory against Saudi Arabia. The side thumped Mali by 3-0 before a late three goal spree ensured their victory over New Zealand.
Austria, who have only conceded one goal in the competition so far topped Group L and faced Tunisia in the first knock out game which they won by two nill. The team next faced England which they knocked out by a 4-0 result before a 1-0 win in a closely contested game with Japan. Their journey to the final was confirmed after a 2-0 victory over Italy in the semi final.
Portugal and Austria, who are to begin the game 7pm on Thursday, have met four times ended with two wins for the former alongside a draw and one win for Austria.
They last met in the 2016 UEFA European U17 Championship quarter-finals. Zé Gomes hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory as Hélio Sousa’s side went on to win the tournament.
