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Home / Sport / Football

Jason Pine: My team of the tournament

Herald online
18 Jun, 2015 10:08 PM3 mins to read

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Marcos Guilherme of Brazil celebrates with his team mates after scoring a goal during the FIFA U-20 World Cup Semi Final. Photo / Getty Images.

Marcos Guilherme of Brazil celebrates with his team mates after scoring a goal during the FIFA U-20 World Cup Semi Final. Photo / Getty Images.

With just the final two matches remaining, here's my team of the under-20 World Cup.

Predrag Rajkovic (Serbia): The Serbian custodian has been an ever-present between the sticks for Serbia, making more saves (20) than any other goalkeeper at the tournament. A massive presence.

Grischa Proemel (Germany): An assured defender and expert man-marker, Proemel was a mainstay in the German defence and also contributed in the front-third, scoring goals against Fiji and Honduras.

Milos Veljkovic (Serbia): The giant central defender is on the books of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and has played every minute of his side's campaign, during which they've conceded just three goals in over ten hours of football.

Bill Tuiloma (New Zealand): The Junior All Whites' skipper was easily his side's best player. The Marseille defender looked right at home among some of the world's best youngsters and his outstanding performance against Portugal was further proof of his huge potential. A future All Whites captain.

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Jorge (Brazil): The stylish Flamengo left-back has caught the eye as part of an unbreachable Brazilian rearguard, but also showed a nose for goal, slotting home beautifully after a mazy run against Senegal in the semi-final.

Emerson Hyndman (USA): The USA skipper was exceptional, covering every blade of grass and contributing hugely in attack and defence. He scored goals in the pool play wins over Myanmar and New Zealand and was at the heart of his side's run to the quarter-finals.

Marc Stendera (Germany): Stendera expertly steered Germany through pool play, scoring four goals and assuming the role of his team's main playmaker. His departure after just ten minutes against Mali in the quarter-finals after a knock to the head dealt Germany's hopes a fatal blow.

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Dieudonne Gbakle (Mali): The elegant French-based midfielder announced himself with a lovely strike in Mali's first-up win over Mexico and then scored one of the goals of the tournament against Ghana in the round-of-16. He played every match for the new darlings of African football and was a constant menace for opposition defences.

Gelson Martins (Portugal): From the time he opened Portugal's tournament account inside thirty seconds of their opening match, Martins looked his side's most dangerous attacker, combining pace and close control with audacious attempts on goal. His winner in the round-of-16 match against New Zealand was simply sublime as he curled an effort with the outside of his right foot in off the post.

Viktor Kovalenko (Ukraine): After drawing a blank in the opening game against New Zealand, the Shakhtar Donetsk front-man scored a brace against Myanmar before netting a superb hat-trick against the USA in their final pool game. He remains the tournament's Golden Boot leader, despite Ukraine's exit in the round-of-16.

Marcos Guilherme (Brazil): Despite the paucity of Brazilian goals in the knockout rounds, Guilherme always looked the man most likely to trouble opposition defenders. His brace against Senegal in the semi-final broke his tournament drought and marked him out as the man Serbia will have to watch most closely in the final.

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