All eyes are on Delhi today as the Indian U-17 team makes its World Cup debut. About 1,400 km away in Navi Mumbai, group B matches, too, start simultaneously. New Zealand will play Turkey while Paraguay will take on Mali. Not many would have spared a thought for this group. This is despite having African champions and last editions runners-up, Mali. But a country's footballing credentials are judged on the senior team's exploits and hence Group B did not look exciting enough on paper.
In fact, after the draw for the tournament, Group B grabbed attention for its lack of footballing powerhouses. So, they were mostly ignored as focus drifted to team India in the north, the group of death in the east or Brazil vs Spain down south. But there is more to Group B than what meets the eye and there might be a few surprises in store.
Mali are expected to top the group and Turkey should be the biggest challenge for them. Paraguay impressed during qualification while New Zealand, which progressed from the group stages in Chile 2015, are no pushovers.
Team previews
Paraguay
Coach: Gustavo Elisio Morinigo
The Paraguayans finished third in the South American U-17 Championships. They beat Argentina and Chile, and held Brazil to a draw twice. Brazil U-17 coach Carlos Amadeu called them a “unit stronger than the sum of their parts”.
Their training involved playing at the early hours of morning in order to get used to the time zone in India. In the 2015 world cup they exited at the group stage after losing to New Zealand by a stoppage-time goal. Grouped together again, the Paraguayans will be looking for redemption when they play New Zealand.
Strikers Fernando Romero, who scored three goals in the South American Championships and his strike-partner Fernando Cardozo, who has made his senior debut for his club, Olimpia, are both key players. Goalkeeper Diego Huesca who is with Spanish club Valencia will also play a key role.
Mali
Coach: Jonas Kokou Komla
Mali were unbeaten on their way to the African Championships and conceded only two goals. They impressed by beating Ghana in the final. Coach Komla is known as a proponent of the African power game and the same is expected from his team.
This will be their fifth appearance at the U-17 event. Prior to 2015, their best performance was quarterfinal finishes in 1997 and 2001.
Hadji Drame, who scored three goals in the African Championships, and Mamadou Samake who netted the winner in the final are key players.
New Zealand
Coach: Danny Hay
New Zealand come to India as OFC U-17 champions. That is a title they are used to winning. They are also used to being underdogs outside their confederation. The team arrived early in India and played warm-up matches against Brazil and England. Though they lost both, it gave them invaluable match time in India. And this could work to their advantage.
New Zealand have appeared in seven previous editions. They reached the round of 16 in 2015, but lost 1-0 to Brazil. Striker Charles Spragg, who bagged seven goals in the OFC Championships, will be a key player for the team.
Turkey
Coach: Mehmet Hacioglu
The Turks come to India with a reputation as giant killers. They beat Italy and Croatia in the European Championships before losing to England in the semifinals.
This will only be their third U-17 World Cup. In their last appearance in 2009, they reached the quarterfinals.
Malik Karaahmet, who scored three goals in the European Championships, and FC Shalke's Ahmed Kutucu are goal threats. Number 10 Atalay Babacan was named in the team of the tournament in the European Championships and is the main creator.
Fixtures
Oct 6:
New Zealand vs Turkey (5pm)
Paraguay vs Mali (8pm)
Oct 9:
Turkey vs Mali (5pm)
Paraguay vs New Zealand (8pm)
Oct 12:
Mali vs New Zealand (5pm)
Turkey vs Paraguay (8pm)
