Dortmund youth players Almugera Kabar, Paris Brunner and Charles Herrmann are U17 World Cup winners! They helped the Germany U17 national team beat France 4-3 on penalties in a dramatic World Cup final in Indonesia.
The score was 2-2 at the end of normal time. Almugera Kabar slotted home the decisive penalty kick after Paris Brunner had been denied by the France goalkeeper. Brunner subsequently received the Player of the Tournament award.
It was the first time in history that the DFB have triumphed at the U17 World Cup. The team, which had already won the European Championship final against France on penalties in the summer, took the lead in Surakarta thanks to a goal from Paris Brunner, who converted a penalty kick in the 29th minute, before Noah Darvich made it 2-0 (51). The French reduced the deficit to 2-1 through Saimon Bouabre in the 53rd minute and produced an energetic finish after Leipzig player Winners Osawe had been sent off for a second bookable offence. Mathis Amougou levelled the scoring at 2-2 with five minutes remaining.
The Germans initially fell behind in the penalty shootout, before Unterhaching goalkeeper Konstantin Heide surpassed himself once again and saved two French spot-kicks. Almugera Kabar, who had come off the bench in the 74th minute, sealed the German triumph by converting from the spot in ice-cold fashion.
The Dortmund defender, who had sustained a very serious injury in the DFB-Pokal tie in Hoffenheim at the start of September, thus made a perfect comeback in national team colours. Charles Herrmann, who produced outstanding performances in the group stages, unluckily sustained an injury in the quarter-final and was therefore not available to play in the final.
“I told the boys they could make themselves immortal. They’ve done that by getting this fantastic victory. It’s an incredible feeling of happiness,” beamed DFB coach Christian Wück.
Hans-Joachim Watzke congratulated the team in his capacity as first vice-president of the DFB: “Congratulations to the entire team, the coaching staff led by head coach Christian Wück and the staff of the U17 national team on winning the World Cup. It has not been an easy path that this team has taken. They have beaten the top nations of Spain, Argentina and ultimately France in successive matches. They have impressed with their football and athleticism in the process, but above all they have demonstrated an unconditional will to win and showed the heart of a great team. This team shows that German football should not be written off. Anyone who plays like this U17 team has a great future ahead of them.” (wiwi)