The scoreline may not suggest it but the New Zealand U-17 men have come agonisingly close to pulling off a notable result against a footballing heavyweight, pushing Brazil all the way in their own backyard before being hit with two late goals to fall 3-0 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

It was a result that greatly flattered the hosts, who began strongly and took a well-deserved early lead but were then put under intense pressure for long spells by New Zealand.

The Oceania champions created numerous chances to score and took control of the match when Brazil were reduced to ten men just before half-time, fullback Yan Couto being sent off for a stomp on Matthew Garbett.

Even before the dismissal, Jose Figueira’s youngsters were giving as good as they got and went on to further quieten a vociferous crowd of over 14,000 at the Estadio Bezerrão in Brasilia before having their hearts broken late on.

While disappointed with the final score, Figueira had nothing but admiration for the impressive efforts of his charges.

“I thought we were absolutely fantastic for 80 minutes,” he said.

“Then unfortunately we made two mistakes but I’m never going to point the finger, I thought the guys were fantastic from front to back and we fought at the same level against a team that is one of the favourites for the tournament. Although the result says a loss on paper, for me it’s a big win in terms of the heart we showed, the way we want to play and putting New Zealand on the map,” he added.

“The red card obviously swung the momentum but before that you could see that we were pressing high and wanting to get the ball forward through the thirds. Of course, playing against ten men gives you a bit of an advantage but there’s still ten fantastic players that you’re going up against. I couldn’t be any prouder and we’re still in it so we’ll fight to the last game.”

After falling 2-1 to tournament debutants Angola in their opening match, New Zealand were looking to take something from Brazil to put themselves in a strong position to progress to the knockout stages in their final group match against Canada.

But Brazil, who had outclassed Canada 4-1 first up, had other ideas and delighted their fans when Kaio Jorge finished from close range as the first half approached its mid-way stage. With Brazil having their tails up and a passionate crowd roaring them on, it would have been easy for New Zealand to crumble but they instead responded well and nearly equalised when Jesse Randall saw his well-struck free kick saved just before the half hour.

A potentially match-defining moment then arrived when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was called into action to help the referee take action against Couto, whose moment of ill-discipline left his side needing to play the entirety of the second half a man down.

New Zealand made good use of their numerical advantage, creating several opportunities to score in the opening moments of the second period. The best of these came the way of Oskar van Hattum, who was picked out at the near post by Harry Bark but prodded his effort just wide.

Randall, who had been brought into the starting line-up after impressing from the bench against Angola, then also came close when he controlled a Garbett pass in the box and spun to shoot but steered his strike narrowly wide of the post.

The Kiwis were now dictating play against one of the world’s most famous footballing nations but were then hit by a sucker punch in unfortunate circumstances, Paulsen getting caught on the ball from a back pass to allow Talles Magno to nip in and roll home. It was a two-goal cushion that Brazil scarcely deserved and they were flattered even further by the scoreline when Diego broke away to notch a third in additional time.

“Even when Brazil had 11 men, we still had some good chances, played the ball well and kept possession,” defender Campbell Strong said.

“Then when the red card was given we thought we’d just go at them but unfortunately we gave into fatigue in the final 10 minutes and those two goals cost us at the end.”

Despite suffering a second successive defeat, the experience of taking on the South Americans in such a setting will stay with Strong and his team mates forever.

“Brazil is the home of football really, the atmosphere was incredible so full credit to the fans for that. Being from a small country like New Zealand, it’s always great to play the likes of Brazil and show what you can do against them.”

New Zealand will now look to regroup and prepare to take on Canada, whom they meet on Saturday at noon (NZT). A place in the knockout stages is still a possibility if they can earn a win and potentially progress as one of the best third-placed teams.

Match Details

Brazil 3 (Kaio Jorge 19’, Talles Magno 81’, Diego 90 + 1’)
New Zealand 0
HT: 1-0

New Zealand: 1. Alex Paulsen (GK) (c), 3. Kris Naicker, 4. Jackson Simpkin, 5. Adam Hillis (15. Brad Wilson 46’), 6. Campbell Strong, 8. Henry Hamilton (7. Keegan Jelacic 85’), 9. Jesse Randall, 10. Marko Stamenic, 11. Matthew Garbett, 14. Oskar van Hattum, 19. Harry Bark (17. Nathan Lobo 63’)
Substitutes not used: 2. Max Drake, 12. Luca Taylor (GK), 13. Finn O’Connor, 16. Sean Bright, 18. Ben Old, 20. Otto Ingham, 21. Callum Kennett (GK)
Cautions: 8. Henry Hamilton 45’, 4. Jackson Simpkin 70’
Coach: Jose Figueira

Article added: Wednesday 30 October 2019