A clash of two vibrant football philosophies makes the Brazil-Germany quarterfinals a sell-out affair at the country’s biggest football arena, the Salt Lake Stadium, on Sunday.
In a city addicted to football, this FIFA Under-17 World Cup fixture has drawn huge interest over whether Selecao creativity will score over the tactical efficiency of Nationalelf.
When teams representing two of the strongest football nations of the world come face to face, there definitely will be something special in store.
Despite this being a development tournament, the results of the two senior sides are going to play on the minds of the junior players.
The under-17 World Cup stats favour Brazil, which has won the title three times, while the best the Germans have achieved is reaching the final of the inaugural edition in 1985.
The last time the two teams met was in 2011 in Mexico, where Germany nudged past Brazil 4-3 for a third-place finish.
In the present context, Brazil has justified its merit. Scoring nine while letting in only one, Brazil has been one of the most creative teams so far. The only occasion it faced some challenge was in the group stage, where it had to overcome a goal deficit against Spain (2-1).
The path after the initial hardship has been smooth for the Latin American giant, which definitely enjoys the edge on current form.
For the Germans, a shock 4-0 loss to Iran in the group stage has been the sore point. The team rebounded strongly, and has been gaining in strength with every match.
The side coached by Christian Wuck came up really strong in the pre-quarterfinals against Colombia, which it blanked 4-0.
The German offensive revolves round the skills of Hamburg recruit Jann-Fiete Arp, who recently became the youngest player to make a start in the present Bundesliga season.