Considering that it is one of the traditional football hotbeds in India, Goa’s response to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup was a tad disappointing. Low online ticket sales came as a surprise to FIFA and it was forced to start counters at the Fatorda Stadium to fill the seats. Even during the days leading up to the inaugural match, the buzz was surprisingly low.
But as the teams take to the field on October 7, laid-back Goa is sure to wake up to the reality that it is a FIFA World Cup. One look at the group table and Germany leaps out at you as overwhelming favourites. After all, a betting man would not put his money on Iran, Guinea or Costa Rica stopping the German juggernaut.
While Germany are expected to top the group comfortably, the second and third positions are anybody’s to claim. Iran has a strong claim, but Guinea are most likely to progress behind Germany. Iran and Costa Rica will be looking to finish third with the best possible record, so as to claim one of the spots in the round of 16 reserved for the four third placed teams with best records. Five of the six group matches will be played in Goa, while the sixth will be at Kochi.
Team previews
Iran
Coach: Abbas Chamanian
They finished as runners-up in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championships in India. As a result, they are much more familiar with the conditions than the other teams in the group. Interestingly, they played all their matches in that tournament, including the final which they lost on penalties, at the Fatorda Stadium. They will be hoping to make the most of this advantage.
They did not qualify for Chile 2015 and were knocked out in the round of 16 in UAE 2013 by Nigeria. Midfielder Mohammad Sharifi impressed at the AFC championship and striker Younes Delfi is already a proven talent in Iran’s top division.
Costa Rica
Coach: Camacho Viquez
Costa Rica reached the quarterfinals of Chile 2015, overcoming France along the way. They impressed in the initial stages of the CONCANAF U-17 Championships earlier this year by winning four matches in a row before losing 6-1 to Mexico.
Striker Jose Alfaro is the main goal threat and defender Walter Cortes was named in the team of the tournament in the CONCANAF championship.
Guniea
Coach: Souleymane Camara
They finished third in the 2017 U-17 African Cup. In that tournament, they drew against Cameroon and Ghana and beat Niger, before losing on penalties in the semifinal to Mali. Midfielder Elhadj Bah impressed in the tournament and will be one of the key players for Guinea.
This is their fifth appearance in the under-17 World Cup and were knocked out in the group stages at Chile 2015.
Germany
Coach: Christian Wuck
Germany recently won the Confederations Cup with a not-so-senior team. The average age of that team was less than 24 and this has raised expectations for the U-17 team. They finished third in the U-17 Euro Cup. Captain Jann-Fiete Arp scored seven goals in the Euro and has broken into Werder Bremen’s first team.
Germany have never won the U-17 World Cup and were eliminated in the round of 16 in Chile. They will be keen to right both those wrongs.
Fixtures
Oct 7:
Germany vs Costa Rica (5pm)
Iran vs Guinea (8pm)
Oct 10:
Costa Rica vs Guinea (5pm)
Iran vs Germany (8pm)
Oct 13:
Costa Rica vs Iran (5pm)
Guinea vs Germany (5pm)
