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Reuben Joe Joseph
Reuben Joe Joseph

FIFA U-17 WC

Group F preview: Heavyweights all

salt-lake The Salt Lake in Kolkata | Salil Bera

The first two days of the FIFA U-17 World Cup threw up some interesting games and even more interesting results. With four groups having played their first round of matches, the attention now shifts eastward, as the action kicks off in the remaining two groups in Kolkata and Guwahati.

Group F is certainly one of the tougher groups in the tournament, and it was acknowledged by all four coaches of the teams at their respective press conferences a day ahead of the the first games.

The City of Joy, which will later host the final, will get to watch four teams—England, Chile, Mexico and Iraq—that are all either finalists or winners of their respective continental competitions.

It makes it hard to predict how the teams will finish in the group, but Chile and England are expected to advance with the top two spots, while Iraq and Mexico will give them a tough time. A look at the teams:

Chile

Coach: Hernan Caputo

Reflecting the senior team’s golden period, the Chile youth have also risen to the occasion in recent times. Despite losing to Brazil on the last day of the U-17 Copa America this year, the team were a disciplined, defensive side grinding out victories by a 1-0 scoreline in five matches.

This is only their fourth appearance in the U-17 World Cup with their best performance being a third place finish in 1993. The last edition of the World Cup was held in Chile in 2015, where the team reached the round of 16.

The automatic qualification in 2015 as hosts means that this 2017 tournament is the first time in 20 years that Chile has qualified for the World Cup. Hernan Caputo has overseen team activities since 2015. He has converted the team into a strong defensive unit, making opponents find it hard to breach their defence.

Mexico

Coach: Mario Arteaga

One of the more successful sides in the U-17 World Cup history, Mexico has won the competition twice and participated in 12 editions. The last two times, they finished second (2013) and fourth (2015).

Nicknamed ‘El Tri’, the North American team beat USA on penalties in the final of the 2017 CONCACAF championship to make it to India. It was their third consecutive CONCACAF title and they scored a massive 22 goals in just six games.

A possession-based play is attributed to Arteaga, who has been in charge of the team since the 2015 event in Chile. Diego Lainez, an attacking midfielder, and Jairo Torres, a striker, will be the players to watch out for.

England

Coach: Steven Cooper

With a host of high-profile rising stars in the team, England come into the competition following a defeat in the U-17 Euro final to Spain. But as the senior side has so often showed, high-profile names do not always translate to success.

Surprisingly though, this will only be England’s fourth appearance in the competition, having qualified for the first time in 2007. Reaching two quarterfinals is the best they could do.

This time around, things could be different. Steven Cooper, who has been in charge on and off since 2014, had stints with the Liverpool academy and has moulded a side that looks like one of the strongest in the competition.

Though star midfielder Jadon Sancho will be available only during the group stage, before he returns to his club, the team has other players to rely on, like Rhian Brewster and Angel Gomes.

Iraq

Coach: Qahtan Jathir

Being crowned champions of the U-16 Asian confederation is the best that Iraq has ever performed in any level of football. It is therefore with high expectations that this team enters the World Cup.

In the only other appearance at the U-17 World Cup, in 2013, Iraq was crushed in all three group games and coach Jathir has emphasised the need to erase those memories.

Being the less decorated of the four teams in the group, Iraq will look to striker Mohammed Dawood to lead the attack. The 16-year-old was in blistering form at the U-16 event in Goa last year, where he scored six goals to top the scorers charts.

The Asian champions certainly have their task cut out for them in the group stage, but if they can make it past this deadly group, there will be hope after all.

Fixtures:

October 8:

Chile vs England (5pm)

Iraq vs Mexico (8pm)

October 11:

England vs Mexico (5pm)

Iraq vs Chile (8pm)

October 14:

Mexico vs Chile (8pm)

England vs Iraq (8pm)

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