Coulibaly stars as Ivorians soar

Coulibaly stars as Ivorians soar

Fifa's Under-17 World Cup trophy Ivory Coast are through to the knock-out stages of the U17 World Cup

Souleymane Coulibaly put in another goalscoring masterclass as Ivory Coast booked their place in the last 16 of the U17 World Cup in Mexico.

A superb hat-trick as the Africans drew 3-3 with Brazil in Guadalajara on Sunday took his tally for the tournament to eight, and seven in the last two.

With eight goals in three games, Coulibaly overtakes Florent Sinama Pongolle and Spain's David as top group-stage scorer in the tournament's history.

The result put both sides through to the last 16, with the South Americans finishing top of Group F.

The Ivorians will now play France in the next round.

Coulibaly came to the world's attention when he scored all four goals in the 4-2 win over Denmark in Ivory Coast's previous match.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso's faint hopes of qualifying for the second round were extinguished on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat by Ecuador.

The reigning Africans champions were outplayed by their more purposeful opponents who booked their passage to the round of 16.

The first half of this Group E match also played in Guadalajara produced very little in terms of entertainment value and no goals for the sparse crowd.

But a pair of second-half goals from Jose Cevallos and Kevin Mercado put paid to Burkina Faso's hopes of prolonging their stay in Mexico.

Cevallos breached the Burkinabe defence after 75 minutes when he placed his free kick beyond the reach of goalkeeper Seni Ouedraogo.

Two minutes later, Kevin Mercado put the issue beyond doubt when he poked the ball into the back of the net from close range.

The second goal effectively killed the match as a contest as Burkinabe heads dropped and Ecuador played with increasing confidence.

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