Iberians prepare for rematch

By Luke Williams

As the FIFA Under-17 World Championship quarter-finals approach in Finland, Europe can celebrate the fact that two of the continent's three representatives have reached the last eight.

Guaranteed semi-final place
Indeed, one European nation will definitely reach the semi-finals as Spain and Portugal meet in the last eight on Sunday in Tampere - a rerun of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final earlier this year. On that occasion the Spanish fell 2-1 to competition hosts Portugal. However, on the basis of the form so far in Finland, Spain will start Sunday's match as favourites.

Slow starts
The Spanish suffered slow starts in their opening two Group D games, relying on a late Xisco goal for a 3-3 draw against Sierra Leone, and coming from 2-0 down to beat Korean Republic 3-2. But they are now beginning to show their best form. In their final group game the hitherto unbeaten United States were swept aside 2-0, despite Juan Santisteban's side being reduced to ten men for the second half.

Santisteban reflection
"We didn't lose our concentration despite Silva's unfair sending-off," Santisteban said. "I don't know if we will win the championship but if we keep on playing like we did today I am sure we can achieve big things in this tournament. We created a lot of chances and that's really important."

Inconsistent Portugal
Portugal have been inconsistent so far, although their Group C matches have been arguably the most enthralling of the tournament. In their opener against Yemen, the Portuguese trailed 2-0 and 3-2, but still escaped with a 4-3 win. That was followed by a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Brazil.

Extraordinary circumstances
Going into their final group game against Cameroon, Portugal needed a draw to progress and secured it in extraordinary circumstances. After cantering into a 5-0 lead, with Manuel Curto scoring a hat-trick, the Portuguese defence collapsed and Cameroon roared back to draw 5-5.

Emotional summer
The Portuguese have looked heavy-legged at times, but they have a three-day rest before Sunday and their team spirit is formidable. "I can't explain what happened," coach António Violante admitted after the Cameroon match. "But it's important to remember we're talking about 17-year-olds.

Violante pride
"In the last 20 minutes the team lost the plot completely. However, I have to give credit to Cameroon, they never gave up." Win or lose against Spain, Violante is a proud man. "We have achieved our goal which was to reach the quarter-finals," he said. "The match against Spain will be very hard. They will cause us problems, but as ever we will play to win."

Tough challenge
Whichever European side reaches the semis will face a tough challenge to lift the trophy. Argentina or Mexico will await in the last four, while Brazil, the US, Colombia and Costa Rica are also still lurking in the draw.

Finns out
The only European side not to reach the last eight were hosts Finland, who finished third in Group A. Despite a 9-1 reverse in their final game against Colombia the Finns showed real promise at times. As coach Jyrki Heliskoski said after the Colombia match: "We played our best football of the tournament in the first half despite being 3-1 down at half-time.

Too much tempo
"The tempo of the game proved too much for us. All in all this tournament has been a great event. The atmosphere is really fine and the spectators have enjoyed the matches. I am satisfied we played better and better every game. Finishing third in the group is not such a bad result for us."

Additional reporting by Mikael Erävuori, Diogo Teixeira and María Bretones Merino