Argentina 3
Ibanez 42
Ferreyra 51
Suarez 88
Austria 2
Zivotic 31
Pellegrini 79
Man of the match
Matias Sanchez (Argentina)
DUBAI // Argentina moved into pole position in Group E of the Fifa Under 17 World Cup with a thrilling late victory against Austria.
The South American champions, held to a 1-1 draw by Iran in their opening encounter, secured a vital three points in an incredibly tight pool, sealing the win in the final minutes.
Luis Suarez, the substitute, notched the crucial goal, twisting and turning inside the Austrian penalty area as the clock ticked toward 90 minutes, before seeing his shot deflected over Alexander Schlager, the opposition goalkeeper. With it, Argentina took a huge step toward the knock-out stages.
It was Austria, though, who opened the scoring just after the half hour, when Nikola Zivotic pounced on a loose ball blocked by Augusto Batalla in the Argentine goal, then stroked a shot into the empty net.
Joaquin Ibanez soon restored parity, meeting Sebastian Driussi’s expert cross to head down past Schlager. From there, it seemed Argentina would simply stroll to the points, especially after German Ferreyra gave them the lead six minutes after half-time, yet Tobias Pellegrini, another substitute, side-footed home Daniel Ripic’s pull-back to level the scores once more.
As both sides traded blows, Suarez was presented with the last golden opportunity and kept his cool to send the vociferous Argentine support into wild celebration. Their young team held on, and can now look toward the last 16 with a newfound sense of optimism.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
