U17 World Cup: Kochi set for more Brazilian Samba as Carlos Amadeu confirms Alan return

An in-form Brazil U-17 team will lock horns against a talented Honduras U-17 side in the Round-Of-16 fixture of FIFA U-17 World Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday.

Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu said that his team cannot wait to take the field again after three wins in three games in their group.

"We are totally satisfied to be back here in Kochi. We had more time to recover from the last match to this one. But we are looking forward to playing again because we have been resting for too many days."

Much of his team's build-up towards the tournament centred around Real Madrid signing Vinicius Jr, who missed out on the trip to India due to an unfortunate injury. Amadeu's team, however, showed no signs of slowing down despite the absence of a star player, with Lincoln, Paulinho and Brenner making the most of their chances so far in the competition.

"Vinicius is a great player, we would have liked to have him here. We had our games, we have won our games. Right now we are totally satisfied with the players that we have here.
We got assists for midfielders."

"We have players on our bench like Vitinho who was playing well. Lincoln is still 16 and they are playing at high levels. Paulinho and Brenner are already in the senior team in their clubs. The projections for the future are the best. If they keep our minds, they will have a really great future ahead of them." 

The Brazilian coach will be happy to welcome his playmaking midfielder Alan back into the starting lineup. Crocked Vitinho will miss the fixture against Honduras.

"We need to be really concentrated for the next match. Right now we just have to win. About Alan coming back, we received this in a totally positive way because he fits in really well with our style of play. Vitinho is the only one missing so it was important that Alan is back. Vitinho has had this shock in his head. This is a medical stuff. Recovery is something around 7 days so we have to respect that. We have players in that position and we are totally confident about these players."

"We will keep this team with Alan coming back. This is how we work. Some athletes could give us more. They are growing in this competition. It is important that we won the three matches because it gives us confidence."

Despite their win record, Brazil have allowed other teams to create chances against their defence and tomorrow's opponents have had Carlos Mejia and Patrick Palacio scoring for fun in their games.

"I'm happy about the wins. I'm happy to not concede many goals. FOr sure, I would like to score more goals, it would be perfect. We are winning the matches. Now we are in a more difficult stage in the competitions. 1-0 is 1-0."

"I was watching the CONCACAF qualification where Honduras scored many goals. Also, here they are scoring. THey have a strong offensive line. Palacios and Mejia are strong players. Also, we have to make them pay attention, they have to be occupied by our team's football. If they have to worry about our forwards, they won't be able to attack much."

"Also, what we are always telling these guys our defensive system starts with our forwards. All of them are totally committed to our style of play."

Honduras U-17 coach Jose Valladares was positive about his side's progress in the tournament so far.

"We are satisfied to qualify. It's a pleasure for us to be here. We did commit errors during our game against France and Japan. We will give them a tough fight to surprise Brazil," said Valladares.

He has a difficult job on his hands though, given the fact that Brazil have won all their matches of the group stage.

"We will definitely play to win. They got a good defence, we will try to break their defence. Brazil is a strong team. Their strategy is a technical strategy."

"Our ultimate strategy is to win the game. I believe that tomorrow game is similar to the game we played against France. We are going to tackle Brazil." remarked the Honduras gaffer.

Carlos Mejia and Patrick Palacios have been Honduras' primary go-to source for goals. The coach believes that his midfielders have been unfortunate to not get on the scoresheet.

"We have players in midfield, they have got a good strategy. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to score. We have got opportunities but we couldn't capitalize on that," said Valladares, who is also wary of the in-form Brazilian attack.

"We will utilize all the little opportunities we get tomorrow. We will be watchful of the attack of Brazil. We will secure our midfield."

"We performed well during the group stages. It was indeed a tough group. It is our third consecutive time in the World Cup. We will try our best to win tomorrow."