Sweden bronze their moment at U17 World Cup

Sweden's man of the match, Valmir Berisha, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal one of this three goals in their win over Argentina to secure the bronze at the Fifa Under 17 World Cup in Abu Dhabi. Sammy Dallal / The National

Sweden 4-1 Argentina

Sweden: Berisha 7, 24, 57, Strandberg 20

Argentina: Compagnucci 44

MOM - Berisha (Sweden)

Roland Larsson, the Sweden coach, thanked his players for providing the ideal parting gift after they defeated Argentina 4-1 in the play-off for third place. Valmir Berisha scored three goals to conclude the tournament with seven, and Carlos Strandberg also scored as the Swedes secured the bronze medal.

Larsson, who will now take charge of the Sweden U15 side, was visibly emotional afterwards, saying: “There’s a lot feelings right now. “This is my last game with this team, so this is the perfect present for me.

“This is a sensation for Swedish football; no one would believe we could do this.” Larsson described the first 25 minutes from his side as “like fireworks”, as Sweden took a 3-0 lead, only for Lucio Compagnucci to pull one back for Argentina just before half time. Berisha, though, made safe the result soon after the restart – an impressive finale to Sweden’s first participation at a Fifa Under 17 World Cup.

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