November 28 – Portugal won their first U-17 World Cup with a 1-0 victory against Austria following a controversial goal from Anísio Cabral in the final in Doha.
It was a final of fine margins, one that turned on millimetres. In the 32nd minute, Duarte Cunha dribbled into the penalty area on the right, and after his low cross, Cabral only had to tap it in. The Portugal scorer, however, appeared to be in an offside position.
After an on-field review under the Football Video Support (FVS) system, the Peruvian referee awarded the goal, and Austria, in their first-ever World Cup final across all age groups, never quite recovered. It was the first time in the tournament that the Austrians were trailing.
En route to the final, Austria had not conceded a single goal in the knockout stages, eliminating Tunisia, Japan and England.
If Portugal enjoyed possession and dominance in the first half, the Austrians took over in the second and came close when, in the final minutes of the match, substitute Daniel Frauscher struck the inside of the post.
The Portuguese had shown more composure and skill, and ultimately ran down the clock to win the world title and wrap up the first 48-team U-17 World Cup in Qatar, the first of five that the Gulf Nation will stage. The Aspire Zone hosted the entire tournament, except for the final which was staged at the Khalifa International Stadium.
It’s the first time that Portugal have won the U-17 tournament. In 1989 and 1991, they won back-to-back editions of the U-20 World Cup. The European champions eliminated Belgium, Mexico and Brazil in the knockout stages, but lost 2-1 to Japan in the first round to finish second in group B.
Austria manager Stadler said: “We put up a great fight, but unfortunately, we played too passively in the first half.”
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