The Official Draw for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be played in six venues across India between 6 and 28 October 2017, took place on Friday in Mumbai.
The draw revealed that hosts India will take on USA in their opening match of the competition in New Delhi. Group A also includes ColombiaAand Ghana, who will also clash as part of the first day’s action.
Perhaps the most intriguing quartet of teams was found in Group D, where FIFA tournament debutants Niger drew with Korea DPR, Brazil, and Spain.
The draw ceremony was held in the presence of Sunil Gulati,AFIFA Council member,APraful Patel, President of the All India Football Federation and Vijay Goel, Indian Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.AAssisting in the draw ceremony were FIFA Legends Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu, as well as Indian national team legend Sunil Chhetri and Indian badminton star Pusarla Venkata Sindhu.
One of the highlights of the ceremony was the performance of the tournament’s Official Song. Pritam and Babul Supriyo revealed ‘Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal’ for the first time, much to the delight of the assembled audience.
FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Draw
Groups After Draw
A:AIndia,AUSA,AColombia, Ghana
B:AParaguay, Mali,ANew Zealand,ATurkey
C:AIran,AGuinea,AGermany,ACosta Rica
D:AKorea DPR, Niger, Brazil, Spain
E:AHonduras,AJapan, New Caledonia,AFrance
zoloft buy online, dapoxetine reviews. F:AIraq,AMexico,AChile,AEngland
Talking to reporters later, Indian coach Luis de Matos acknowledged India were certainly some way behind their group rivals but said his side would be ready to do the nation proud, this after all set to be India’s first appearance at any Fifa event.
“Most of the other teams all have something valuable which we will lack and that’s experience,” the Portuguese pointed out. “The US for example have only missed one Under-17 World Cup till now. So in this category, they work very well. Ghana, along with Mali are probably the two best African teams at this moment. As for Colombia, I have watched a lot of matches in South America and Colombia are usually among the top four sides there.”
“So all three are very strong and offer different types of football. But we are not afraid. We will fight in every game and even if someone is giving us a 20 per cent chance to win each match, we are going to fight as hard as we can for that 20 per cent,” the tactician added.
India open the tournament in New Delhi against United States of America on 6th October.
