MUMBAI: During a rehearsal before the U-17 World Cup draw ceremony, somebody opened a ball that slotted Spain in the same group as India. Now that would have been quite the prospect — India's youngsters, who were kicking about in the grass-less grounds of their villages until two years ago — taking on the La Masia-groomed Spaniards.
The official draw, however, was kinder to the hosts, if only marginally so. Lining up alongside India in their first football World Cup appearance of any kind will be United States, Colombia and Ghana, still tough opponents.
India coach Luis Norton de Matos was asked who he thought was the biggest threat and his answer said it all — all of them. USA are familiar foes for the boys in blue. India took them on at the 2016 AIFF Youth Cup and lost 4-0. The former have also been one of the most consistent sides at this level — only Brazil at this year's tournament have played as many World Cups as them.
India will soon go on an exposure trip to USA and Mexico, where they will also come across another team in the group — Colombia. The South Americans might only have been the final team from the continent to qualify, but they did dump the likes of Uruguay out. Finally, there is the small matter of Ghana. The Africans are making a return to the U-17 World Cup after 11 years, but have a formidable record in editions partaken in — two titles and six semifinal appearances in eight tries.
“All these teams are strong,” said De Matos. “The US have only missed one World Cup. In my career, I've seen lots of youth football in South America, and Colombia are one of the strongest teams from there. Ghana is one of the two strongest African sides this year. At this level, experience is an important factor. All these teams, even if players are 17, they have ten years of experience. It's impossible for a coach to give this experience to a team in 5-6 months.”
“But in football there are no impossibles,” he added. “We're going to fight in every game and for every result. We have the next 90 days to prepare, and are going to start with some video analysis of these teams.”
Kochi hits the jackpot
Of the other groups, the one that caught the eye was Group D, where Brazil and Spain will face off. Naturally, the venue where these matches will be held, Kochi, responded in kind. People trying to book, minutes after the second phase of ticket sales opened, just after the draw at 8.30pm found themselves on waiting lists with thousands in front. Goa will get Germany along with a Brazil-Niger game, while Kolkata will see England in action during the group phase.
The draw ceremony was held in the presence of Sports Minister Vijay Goel, FIFA council member and US Soccer president Sunil Gulati and AIFF president Praful Patel. Assisting in the draw ceremony were footballers Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu, as well as Sunil Chhetri and PV Sindhu.