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FIFA U-17 World Cup: Brazil calm about tough opening clash vs Spain
Brazil U-17 national team forward Yuri Alberto is calm about the prospect of playing Spain in their opening group game of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, stating that all groups are challenging.
Brazil U-17 national team forward Yuri Alberto says that his sole focus at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup remains on giving his best so that he and his friends can take the title back to Brazil after a 14-year drought.
“I will give my best in this competition. With my friends by my side we certainly expect to win the tournament,” Alberto told reporters shortly after the end of Brazil’s training session at the Mumbai Sports Arena on Wednesday evening.
Football’s premier global youth event is set to attract scouts from across the globe, ready to snap up the finest young talent that the tournament could produce.
But for Alberto, thoughts of future prospects are not even playing on his mind.
“I am not thinking about any scouts. I am only focused on working hard and playing my football.
Everything that comes after the World Cup will be the consequence of my performance.” said Alberto, who will lead Brazil’s attack in their warm-up game against New Zealand on Thursday.
Brazil are grouped with European champions Spain, Niger and North Korea in Group D and their opening fixture against the Spanish side on October 7 has been labeled as the highlight game of the group stages.
But Alberto was of the belief that all the groups will be equally tricky to get through.
“For me, all the groups in this World Cup are tough in their own sense, they are all at par. Our group is not really different, but we working really hard for the first game against Spain.
“We are expecting it to be an extremely tough game,” said Alberto.
The teenager plays for iconic Brazilian club Santos and idolises Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar.
He is currently studying Spanish and English, possibly in the hope that learning new languages might ease his initiation to clubs outside of South America should he attract prospective employers.
