22 years later, it's time. This Saturday at 13 pm, the France team faces Germany in the final of the U17 World Cup at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta (Indonesia). The last and only World Cup won by this team dates back to 2001, and adds to the three European Championships won in 2004, 2015 and 2022.
After finishing first in their group and eliminating Senegal (0-0, 5 penalties 3), Uzbekistan (1-0) and Mali (2-1), Les Bleuets are back to their German tormentor. In June 2023, the Nationalmannschaft defeated Jean-Luc Vannuchi's team on penalties in the final of the U17 Euro in Hungary (0-0, 5 penalties 4). Despite the Issoufou incident and the doubt of a possible disqualification hanging over their heads, the French did not let go of their goal of being world champions and confirmed their ambitions by remaining unbeaten throughout the competition.
Germany, on the other hand, also achieved a flawless performance. After finishing first in their group, they eliminated the United States (3-2), Spain (0-1) before narrowly beating Argentina after a penalty shootout (3-3, 2 t.a.b. 4) and qualifying for the final to meet France. The Germans will be able to take advantage of the sparkling form of their Hoffenheim striker Max Moerstedt, who scored four goals in five games and was decisive again against the Argentinians in the semi-finals. On the Bleuets side, Le Havre goalkeeper Paul Argney put in a high-flying competition and intends to disgust the opposing attackers to offer victory to his compatriots.
The U17 World Cup final between France and Germany is scheduled to kick off at 13 p.m. on Saturday, December 2 at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta (Indonesia) and will be broadcast on the L'Équipe channel as well as live commentary on leparisien.fr