Talented youngsters set for U-17 World Cup

With just seven days remaining for the FIFA U-17 World Cup kick off in India, the official squad lists for the tournament has been announced.

A total of 504 young hopefuls from 24 countries across the globe can now start dreaming of following in the footsteps of famous graduates of the tournament, such as Neymar, Ronaldinho, Luis Figo, Toni Kroos, Gianluigi Buffon, Andres Iniesta and Odartey Lamptey.

Some emerging talents, who would be playing at the FIFA India 2017 would include USA forward Josh Sargent, who shined at the recent FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic 2017, where he scored four goals.

The Paris Saint-Germain young striker Tim Weah, who would be striking for the USA team is the son of African footballing legend George Weah would also be a familiar name to football fans worldwide.

Many eyes would also be on Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, who recently signed with FIFA Club World Cup holders Real Madrid, and France’s Amine Gouiri, the Lyon man, who set a UEFA U-17 European Championship scoring record with nine goals in five matches at Croatia 2017.

Indian fans, meanwhile, would have high hopes that forwards Aniket Jadhav and Komal Thatal can lead the hosts to new heights during the competition.

The youngsters will showcase their prodigious talents across six host cities: Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai and New Delhi.

The tournament begins on Friday 6 October with action in Groups A and B, with host India playing their first-ever match in a FIFA competition when they take on USA in New Delhi.

Kolkata will host the final on Saturday 28 October.