If the 24 teams taking part in the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup justify their billing, it won’t be difficult for the top-ranked sides to progress from their respective groups. As per the tournament format, the top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16. Therefore, the pre-tournament favorites will have to play that badly to get knocked out at the group stage.
Group F lends itself to being one of the exciting groups of this year’s tournament. There could be at least one upset during the group stage as England, regulars at FIFA championships, dark horses Chile, two-time champions Mexico and Asian heavyweights Iraq will be looking to advance to the next round.
Here is all you need to know about this tough group:
England
Nickname: Three Lions
Past records: India 2017 will be England’s fourth outing on the global stage at this age level. Their first appearance in the U-17 World Cup was in 2007 where they went down to Germany in the quarterfinals. Current Arsenal star Danny Welbeck was part of that squad. In the 2015 edition hosted by Chile, they could not reach the knockout stages.
Path to qualification: England qualified for India 2017 by finishing second in the UEFA U-17 European Championship. In the final, they lost to Spain in a penalty shootout. The team maintained a 100 per cent record in both the qualifying round and elite round before reaching the final.
Coach: Steve Cooper took on the role of England U-16 coach in 2014 before graduating to the U-17 side a year later.
Mexico
Nickname: El Tri
Past records: Mexico have always been a traditional force at U-17 World Cups. They have featured in 12 out of 16 tournaments at this age level and clinched the title twice, in 2005 and 2011. At Chile 2015, they finished fourth, after being beaten by eventual champions Nigeria in the semis, and by Belgium in the losers' final.
Path to qualification: Mexico come to India as the CONCACAF champions. In the final, they got the better of USA via a penalty shootout, thus exacting revenge for the 3-4 defeat in the initial group stage. They scored as many as 22 goals in six matches in the tournament.
Coach: This will be Mario Arteaga’s second U-17 World Cup, having guided the team to semifinals at Chile 2015.
Chile
Nickname: La Roja
Past records: This will be Chile’s fourth appearance at a FIFA U-17 World Cup. Their best performance to date is the third-place finish in their maiden outing at Japan 1993. They were knocked out in the group phase in Egypt 1997, but managed to reach the last 16 two years ago as hosts.
Path to qualification: Chile qualified for the main draw by finishing runners-up in the South American U-17 Championship on their home soil. Five of their wins in the tournament were by a one-goal margin. In the final, Brazil thrashed them 5-0. Recently, the Indian U-17 team held them to a 1-1 draw at a four-nation tournament held in Mexico.
Coach: Hernan Caputo, a former Argentinian goalkeeper, was appointed by the Chilean FA to the U-17 job in March, 2016.
Iraq
Nickname: Lion Cubs
Past records: Iraq’s only appearance in FIFA U-17 World Cup came at UAE 2013 where they finished last in their group, losing all three of their matches.
Path to qualification: In the AFC U-16 championship, Iraq beat Uzbekistan 2-0 in the quarterfinals to book their berth at India 2017. In the last four, they ousted Japan before quelling the challenge of Iran on penalties in the final. Striker Mohammed Dawood was the top goalscorer and player of the tournament.
At this year’s championship, they are expected to give the top teams a run for their money.
Coach: Qahtan Jathir, who began his playing career at Iraqi club Al Talaba, has represented Iraq at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup.
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