The England U20 and the Venezuela U20 have defied all odds and have managed to reach the finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea. The two nations will battle it out for top honours later today at the World Cup Stadium in Suwon. This is a big day for the England players in particular as they might finally win a competition on the global stage for the first time since 1966.
Neither nations were never expected to make it this far into the competition in the first place but they have proved through the group and knockout stages that they deserve to be here. England topped their group which consisted of host nation South Korea, Argentina and Guinea.
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The defeated the South American team 3-0 in their opening match and were unlucky to get a draw against Guinea in their second match. The three Lions were leading but an own goal in the second half means they had to settle for a draw. In their final group stage game they were up against South Korea and a 1-0 proved to be enough.
In the round of 16, they defeated Costa Rica 2-1 with Everton sensation Ademola Lookman scoring both the goals. They faced Mexico in the quarter-finals and once again just managed to edge out a win as Dominic Solanke, who has been one of the top players this tournament, grabbed the winner.
In the semi-final, they were up against tournament favourites Italy and after an early goal from Riccardo Orsolin it looked like England's chances were over. But the three lions did not give up at all and turned things around in the second half. Solanke got them back on level terms before Lookman added a second and the Liverpool striker made it three to seal a 3-1 win and a spot in the final.
"It is our time. The determination we have is what drives us on. We know that even if we're losing we can bring it back. There have been no special words from the manager, he's just told us to focus on the next game, as he always does. There's one more game that we need to go and win and if we do it right we'll be champions," Sky Sports quoted Solanke as saying.
As for Venezuela, they too topped their group and won all their matches in the group stage which consisted of Germany, Mexico and Vanuatu. Some might say that Venezuela are at a slight disadvantage in the final match in terms of rest and fitness as they went into extra time in all their knockout matches. They needed extra time to defeat Japan and USA and need penalties to defeat Uruguay in the semi-finals.
"We have worked hard for this. This group of players has given everything to get here, to travel this beautiful road during this beautiful tournament and this team is here thanks to the belief it has had," Venezuela captain Yangel Herrera said.
Both teams have be amazing in front of goal this tournament and despite Venezuela spending more time on the pitch and seeming a little tired, they have been the best team in the competition so far. They are the leading scorers with 14 goals and the most prolific side in terms of attacking statistics: most shots on goal (110), most attempts on target (38) and most shots against the woodwork (5).
England might also have a tough time cracking their defence as they conceded just two goals in the tournament so far and their keeper Wuilker Farinez has made the fewest saves (13) of the four goalkeepers who contested the semi-finals.
Where to watch
The FIFA U20 World cup final between England U20 vs Venezuela U20 is set to at 7:00pm local time, 3:30pm IST and 11:00am UK time.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD. Live streaming: Sonyliv
UK: TV: EuroSport 2 UK, BBC Two
Venezuela: TV: DIRECTV Sports Venezuela, Meridiano Television
USA: TV: Fox Sports 1 USA, Telemundo
Africa: TV: SuperSport 9. Live streaming: SuperSport live
