Brazilian flair up against England's resoluteness

Kolkata: Traditional powerhouse Brazil will rely on their much-admired natural flair when they take on a resolute England in what promises to be a stirring semifinal contest of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup here on Wednesday.

Brazil survived a scare of sorts against Germany in the quarterfinals. In front of a crowd of over 60,000, the Brazilians took more than 70 minutes to get on the score- sheet before managing to seal it in their favor.

Stunning goals

Two spectacular strikes from Weverson and Paulinho saved the day for them after the usually clinical Germans had taken the lead in the first half.

The spectators are once again expected to rally behind the South Americans at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium. The match was shifted to Kolkata at the last minute from Guwahati due to the rain-soaked pitch there.

The last-minute shift caused players of both the teams some inconvenience as they had already reached Guwahati and had to take another flight within hours of alighting there.

England were based here for three group matches and the round of 16 game before proceeding to Margao for the quarterfinal.

Brazil, on the other hand, were earlier based in Kochi and Margao but felt at home here after getting overwhelming support at the Salt Lake Stadium in their 2-1 win over Germany. From the days of incomparable Pele's first visit to the city in 1977, Kolkata fans have been traditional Brazil supporters.

Except for a brief period against Spain in their campaign opener, Brazil were largely untested before the Germany clash. It was the first time in the tournament that Brazil were truly stretched. The Germans were, in fact, the dominant side, especially in the first half.

Brazil turned it around through two special strikes from Weverson and Paulinho in the space of six minutes to remain on course for their fourth title overall and the first since 2003.

Brazil's strike trio of Paulinho, Lincoln and Brenner have been in great form. Paulinho though overshadowed the other two in the match against Germany.

Alan and Marcos Antonio were not allowed to dominate the midfield by the Germans in the first half, but they came into their own in the second period.

Rock-solid defense

Brazil's defense has also been rock solid with Vitao marshaling the back four admirably without conceding a field goal so far in the tournament. They have conceded two goals in the tournament but the first against Spain was an own goal by Wesley while the German goal in the quarterfinals was from the penalty spot.

Goalkeeper Gabriel Brazao has proven difficult to beat, with a save rate of 88.9 percent.

However, Brazil's defense was split open several times by the Germans in the first half of their quarterfinal and it will be interesting to see how they hold up against England forwards, who have scored 15 goals in five matches so far.

England are brimming with confidence after their 4-1 decimation of United States of America in the quarterfinals. This England side, whose players are from the youth teams of the top English Premier League clubs, has had an impressive run in the tournament.

They were practically unstoppable in the group stage and found their first real test against a plucky Japanese side in the pre-quarterfinals.

It seemed that England felt the absence of star striker Jadon Sancho against Japan and the match could have gone either way. But they won it in the penalty shootout.

Sancho left for Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund after the group stages but the 'Three Lions' showed they could deal with that by outplaying USA.

By reaching the semifinals here, they have achieved what their peers have not done so far in three earlier attempts.

Liverpool youth team player Rhian Brewster has been in ruthless form and must be raring to go after his hat-trick against USA. Also Phil Foden of Manchester City with his fluid movement at the right channel and Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi at the left flank would be keenly watched.

Brewster is a goal behind the top-scorer trio of Jann- Fiete Arp of Germany, Lassana NDiaye of Mali and France's Amine Gouiri who all have scored five goals each.

Manchester United star Angel Gomes has been used sparingly by head coach Steve Cooper.

England have also conceded just three goals in the tournament so far but that could change against the likes of Paulinho, Lincoln, Alan and Brenner.

The teams (from): Brazil: Gabriel Brazao, Wesley, Vitao. Lucas Halter, Victor Bobsin, Weverson, Paulinho, Marcos Antonio, Lincoln, Alan, Lucao, Matheus Stockl, Rodrigo Guth, Luan Candido, Victor Yan, Rodrigo Nestor, Vitinho, Yuri Alberto, Brenner, Yuri Sena.

England: Curtis Anderson, Josef Bursik, William Crelin, Timothy Eyoma, Joel Latibeaudiere, Marc Guehi, Jonathan Panzo, Lewis Gibson, Steven Sessegnon, Morgan Gibbs White, Tashan Oakley Boothe, Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes, Nya Kirby, George McEachran, Callum Hudson Odoi, Philip Foden, Emile Smith Rowe, Rhian Brewster, Daniel Loader.

Match starts at 5 pm IST