CHENNAI: The Under-17 World Cup teaches players to deal with pressure and learn to play in a team. The French kids excelled at those things in the group stage, where they were imperious, winning three and scoring 14 in the process.
The match was poised at 1-1, when in the 89th minute Jose Alonso Lara tripped himself and went down in the area. Oumar Solet was close to him and the referee decided that was enough to point to the spot. It was a charitable decision and Barcelona's Abel Ruiz did not need a second invitation and stroked home the winner from the spot-kick.
It was looking like Les Bleuets would run away with the encounter after they took the lead in the 34th minute, new boy Lenny Pintor scoring the opener. Spain, the reigning Euro Under-17 Champions, did not panic, though. They expectedly had the bulk of the possession and equalised on the stroke of half-time, Juan Miranda heading home after some lacklustre defending.
With the seconds ticking down and humidity already having an effect, the 2001 champions decided to bring the shutters down. It was obvious France looked to settle for a shootout while Spain grew in ascendancy. They fashioned a few chances but were running out of ideas when Lara went down right at the end.
Spain, based in Kochi for the majority of the group stages, will head there to face Iran in one of the quarterfinals on October 22.