FIFA U17 World Cup: Brazil, Mali coaches highlight Europe's growing strength ahead of third-place playoff
The drama, the emotion, the perseverance and the pain, for both Brazil and Mali it all boils down to this, a final nudge for a podium finish. Both the sides were valiant with their efforts throughout the tournament, excited scores of crowds along the way, they stumbled before the final hurdles. Brazil were admittedly outplayed by an emphatic England side whereas Mali were knocked out by an equally dominant Spain, but controversy marred the game with a wrongly disallowed goal for the African champions. Both the sides addressed the press before their Third Place playoff tomorrow, we take a look at 5 key takeaways from these two press conferences.
#1 The Importance of a third-place match and their approach to the game
The third-place game at any tournament always has the fear of the losing it's competitive edge with coaches giving chances to those who didn't have the opportunity to play in the tournament, but both Brazil and Mali highlighted the importance of the game when they were asked in the press conference.
"It's an honour to be here playing a World Cup. We are happy to be one of the 4 best teams. We had the chance to go all the way but we couldn't grab it. Now it's the 3rd place we are fighting for. I've told the players that every time you play for your country to give your all." said Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu highlighting the importance of working with a developing bunch of players, he further added "It's the experience that's important. Playing 7 matches is more important than playing 5 or 4. Every time we take the field we have a responsibility to make the country proud and that's what we're gonna do tomorrow too."
Mali coach Jonas Kokou Komla spoke on similar lines like his opposition counterpart on his team's motivation to play tomorrow "It's personal motivation for the players after they lost the last match. The third place will also be a success for the team and give me great satisfaction. A podium finish will be an honour for the nation. We play the matches for the love of the game and are looking forward to the game" he said.