Paris Brunner’s second-half penalty clinched victory for Germany over Spain in a compelling FIFA U-17 World Cup™ quarter-final in Jakarta.
The Borussia Dortmund youngster won and then clinically dispatched the spot-kick to settle a tightly-contested battle between the European heavyweights.
Spain were the more progressive team throughout an absorbing first half, with only stunning saves from Max Schmitt preventing Marc Guiu and then Juan Hernandez from opening the scoring.
Germany steadily began to gain a foothold in the game after the interval, though, and they boast a forward line capable of fashioning opportunities in an instant. Brunner is one of those dazzling talents and after producing a sublime piece of skill to skip away from Hector Fort, the Spain defender brought him down for a penalty.
Brunner stepped up himself to take the kick and hammered a precision effort into the corner, sending goalkeeper Raul Jimenez the wrong way.
Spain bossed possession thereafter but struggled to create a steady flow of clear-cut opportunities. There was to be late drama as Jimenez was sent off after dragging down Bilal Yalcinkaya for the clear denying of a goalscoring opportunity in stoppage time, as Germany sealed their place in the last four
