CNN Indonesia
Tuesday, 28 Nov 2023 04:30 WIB
Mali will try to continue to provide surprises at the 2023 U-17 World Cup. (ANTARA FOTO/ARI BOWO SUCIPTO)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Little U-17 so the only ‘underdog’ team in the semifinals 2023 U-17 World Cup because they don’t have a strong history like the other participants. The following is the profile of Mali U-17.
The Mali U-17 national team is the only representative from Africa. Because they will compete with France in the last four which will take place at the Manahan Stadium, Solo, Tuesday (28/11). Meanwhile, in another match, Argentina will face Germany.
The team made by Soumalia Coulibally advanced to the semifinals after winning 1-0 over Morocco in the quarter-finals. Previously, Mali crushed Mexico with a score of 5-0 in the round of 16.
In the preliminary round, Mali put on an impressive performance. They are the most fertile team in Group B with a record of eight goals and only conceding twice. A score of two wins and one defeat made Mali finish in second place in the group.
Paying attention to Mali’s journey from the start of the tournament, it can be seen that the team nicknamed Les Aigles or ‘The Eagles’ was able to go far because of the quality of the team. In fact, they don’t have as impressive a record as the other semifinal participants.
In the context of the U-17 World Cup, Mali’s track record has been up and down. They first qualified for the finals in the 1997 edition in India. Their debut at that time was quite promising, finishing in the quarter-finals.
Mali will make every effort to get rid of France in the semifinals of the 2023 U-17 World Cup. (ANTARA FOTO/MOHAMMAD AYUDHA)
Mali’s junior team qualified again in the next edition in 1999 even though they stopped in the group phase. Then when they returned to appear in 2001, they again reached the quarter-finals.
Mali U-17 had missed the U-17 World Cup in six consecutive editions. They only appeared again in 2015 and managed to advance to the final even though they came out as runners up. It was Mali’s highest achievement to date.
Next, at the 2017 U-17 World Cup, Mali reached the semifinals but failed to return to the final. Then at the 2019 U-17 World Cup, Mali failed to qualify and only appeared again at the 2023 U-17 World Cup.
When compared with France U-17, who are opponents in the semifinals of this edition, Mali is a minor. Because France made its debut in 1987 before going on hiatus for six editions. But when they returned to compete in the 2001 U-17 World Cup, France successfully won the title.
France has also been a regular participant in three consecutive editions of the U-17 World Cup. From that trip, France always qualified for the knockout phase.
Meanwhile, Germany U-17 also has quite a long history in this junior tournament. Germany was runner up once in 1985, semifinalist in 1997, then reached third place in 2007 and 2011.
Argentina also holds the same thing. Of the 19 editions of the U-17 World Cup, they have only failed to qualify for the finals four times. Their best achievement is finishing in third place three times.
However, from these records it is not impossible that Mali will make a surprise. Mali U-17 coach Soumali Coulibaly even boasted that he could score 10 goals against France.
(ikw/jal)
2023-11-27 21:30:55
#Profile #Mali #U17 #remaining #dark #horse #team #U17 #World #Cup
