Generous Gelabert glad to be of assistance

"I get on really well with Abel [Ruiz]. I always tell him that I play to help him get the goals."

Cesar Gelabert's words, uttered in the wake of Spain's 3-1 victory over Mali in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 semi-finals, could not have rung truer.

The La Rojita playmaker produced a storming display against the African side, winning the penalty that Ruiz converted to make it 1-0, before threading a sumptuous through-ball from which his country's No9 and captain doubled the scoring. He also performed his defensive duties diligently throughout his 67 minutes on the pitch.

"I'll never say, 'Yes, I played well'," the midfielder told FIFA.com when asked whether or not a player is aware that they have had a great game. "I always think of the team. If the team help me, then I'm able to do things better."

Cesar Gelabert fact file
Date of birth: 31 October 2000
Club: Real Madrid
Record at India 2017: 5 appearances, 2 goals, 2 assists
In Gelabert's view, Spain's tactical approach was a key factor in their triumph: "The game plan today was to sit back and hit them on the break. We let them have the ball and then, when they tried to play through the middle, we capitalised on the space in behind their defenders," said the No18.

Navi Mumbai bore witness to what Cesar is capable of when he is afforded time and space to think. But what about when he is denied them? "I try to draw in opposition players and provide a decoy, freeing up my team-mates to do what I'm not being allowed to," said the 17-year-old, who has featured in each of Spain's games except their opener against Brazil.

The Real Madrid academy youngster has found the net twice in the tournament, but stressed that while he enjoys scoring goals, he derives greater pleasure from setting them up: "Because it makes me happy to feel that I'm helping my team. That's always been the case."

Fancy meeting you again…
Just like at the UEFA U-17 European Championship, Spain's opponents in the final will be England, who they dramatically defeated on penalties last time out after forcing a shoot-out with a stoppage-time equaliser. "I'm expecting a similar match, although we've improved defensively, so they'll find it more difficult to attack us. We're going to take the game to them and I'm confident we'll beat them."