...Golden Eaglets set to break record in UAE
Today in Abu Dhabi, the final of the 15th FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 will pit reigning champions, Mexico, against three-time winners, Nigeria.
This highly anticipated clash will be the second time that the teams have clashed at this year's tournament, with both having emerged from the same Group F.
The group may well have been the proverbial 'group of death,' but three of the four teams it contained survived until the semi-finals, and two made it all the way to the final. Even before the tournament kicked off, Mexico and Nigeria were regarded as favourites to claim the silverware.
But after the 6-1 thrashing suffered by El Tri in their opening match against the Golden Eaglets, the title holders' dreams of defending their trophy appeared to have been prematurely crushed, while the Eaglets confirmed they would be a force to be reckoned with.
But 20 days later, pundits think the final is likely to be a completely different story, the Nigeria bench has accepted would be tough.
As the Nigerians went from strength to strength, Raul Gutierrez's men dug deep to recover mentally and concentrate on the attributes exhibited by their victorious predecessors in 2011.
Judging by the two semi-finals, where Nigeria saw off Sweden 3-0 and Mexico defeated Argentina by the same scoreline, the showpiece match today should be a closely contested affair.
Coach Manu Garba's charges have two significant statistics in their favour: they are yet to be beaten in the competition, and they boast the most prolific attack (23 goals). Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi and Musa Yahaya spearhead a side that is constantly on the move and harasses the opposition with or without the ball, posing a serious challenge for any defence
. El Tri, meanwhile, have found the net with much less frequency (11 times), but can boast a compact unit that bounced back from their initial setback to eliminate Brazil and Argentina.
At Mexico 2011, Germany broke the record for the number of goals scored at the FIFA U-17 World Cup by finding the net no fewer than 24 times.
After having surpassed their own benchmark of 20 goals, the Eaglets (23) now find themselves one strike away from equalling the Germans' impressive haul.
With two matches left to play and 164 goals already recorded, UAE 2013 looks likely to become the most prolific U-17 World Cup ever, surpassing Korea Republic 2007 (165).