Argentina under-17s ended their South American Championship with a goalless draw against Ecuador and the result handed Brazil their eleventh title before their final match against Colombia. Mathematically, had Argentina nicked a result against Ecuador they would have been crowned champions given that Brazil lost in the last match of the tournament but without question the approach would have been very different had a result been needed.
Ecuador defeated Argentina in the first group stage and again had the better of Miguel Ángel Lemme’s side in this encounter. Los Pibes took second for the sixth time in their history and in truth did not play like a championship winning side the majority of the time. They did defeat Brazil in the final group stage but looked fragile defensively and dependent on Tomás Conechny in attack.
The focus now shifts towards preparing for the under-17 World Cup in Chile in October. Qualification for this was the primary goal in Paraguay and so in some respects it has been a success but the defeat to Uruguay and those draws against Colombia and Ecuador cost the side the opportunity to successfully defend their title.
golazo argentino 