Brazil and Portugal will contest the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2011 in Colombia following their respective last-four victories against Mexico and France. This Saturday's decider in Bogota will be a repeat of the 1991 edition, when the Portuguese won 4-2 on penalties almost exactly 20 years ago.
Both sides secured their places in the grand finale with 2-0 victories on an exciting evening in which France were ruthlessly reminded that failure to take your chances at this level is severely punished. Indeed, Les Bleuets were by no means second best at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellin on Wednesday, but Francis Smerecki's side were unable to find a way past the excellent Mika in the opposing goal. Meanwhile Portugal were merciless in their finishing, netting two of their few chances to see off their European rivals.
The Portuguese have certainly been the minimalists of this year's tournament. Since the expansion of the FIFA U-20 World Cup to 24 teams in 1997, no team has ever managed to reach the final having scored just five goals.
Brazilian striker Henrique has already netted the same number personally. The 20-year-old struck both in his side's 2-0 success against Mexico to move to the top of the goalscoring charts. The prolific goalgetter was just one month old when Brazil last played Portugal in the final of the tournament. Little did he know back then that 20 years later he would be competing in one himself. A Seleção have now gone 13 games without defeat and are set to compete in their eighth FIFA U-20 World Cup final.
