This Saturday's decider
in Bogota will be a repeat of the 1991 edition, when the Portuguese won 4-2 on
penalties almost exactly 20 years ago.Both sides secured their places in the
grand finale with 2-0 victories on an exciting evening in which France were
ruthlessly reminded that failure to take your chances at this level is severely
punished. Indeed, Les Bleuets were by no means second best at the Estadio
Atanasio Girardot in Medellin on Wednesday, but Francis Smerecki's side were
unable to find a way past the excellent Mika in the opposing goal with the Replica Soccer Jerseys. Meanwhile Portugal were merciless in their
finishing, netting two of their few chances to see off their European
rivals.The Portuguese have certainly been the minimalists of this year's
tournament. Since the expansion of the FIFA U-20 World Cup to 24 teams in 1997,
no team has ever managed to reach the final having scored just five goals.
Brazilian striker
Henrique has already netted the same number personally. The 20-year-old struck
both in his side's 2-0 success against Mexico to move to the top of the
goalscoring charts. The prolific goalgetter was just one month old when Brazil
last played Portugal in the final of the tournament with the best
cheap soccer jerseys.
Little did he know back then that 20 years later he would be competing in one
himself. A Seleção have now gone 13 games without defeat and are set to compete
in their eighth FIFA U-20 World Cup final.There was something typically
Brazilian about the way Danilo, Dudu and Henrique combined for their side's
second goal against Mexico. Coach Ney Franco pulled a tactical masterstroke by
introducing Dudu and Allan on 69 minutes and pushing Danilo, a defender by
trade, into midfield. The decision quickly paid off as Danilo threaded a
precise ball in behind the defence for Dudu to square from the right, leaving
Henrique with the simple task of slotting home his fifth of the tournament from
close range.Unexpected support: Brazil were met with the warmest of welcomes in
Pereira, where cries of 'Ole, Bra-siiil' could be heard throughout the 90
minutes with the National
Team Soccer Jersey. The
Colombians got behind their South American neighbours after watching their own
side bow out of the tournament against Mexico in the quarters. Wearing their
traditional yellow shirts, the local fans fitted in perfectly with the golden
Brazilian crowd, who magnanimously gave the Mexicans players a standing ovation
at the end.Record finger: Portugal goalkeeper Mika had a new record in his
sights going into the semi-final clash with France. He only needed 12 minutes
to break the previous record of 492 minutes without conceding a goal, but just
as the record came into view, referee Cuneyt Cakir awarded the French a
free-kick in an ominous position. Clement Grenier curled a fine effort towards
the top-left corner, but with his record in danger, Mika produced an
unbelievable save to claw the ball away with his fingertips. Mika's heroics saw
him overtake Chilean custodian Christopher Toselli's previous best mark from
2007, and the Leiria player will now be hoping to extend his new record of 570
minutes the final.
One-eyed saves: Mika's
Brazilian counterpart Gabriel was involved in a heavy collision with Mexico's
Erick Torres in the 16th minute of their semi-final in Pereira. The Seleção
goalkeeper caught the striker's boot in the face and required minutes of
treatment, eventually continuing the match with a nasty black eye with the Mascherano
Jersey. The eye continued
to swell and was almost closed completely by the end, but that didn't stop the
Brazilian shot-stopper from pulling off an excellent save to deny Marvin
Pinon's 82nd-minute free-kick.