A lot is on the line for the four teams in Group C heading into the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to kick off on October 6. The group comprises Germany, representing Europe, Iran from Asia, Guinea from Africa and Costa Rica from the continental football Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbeans (CONCACAF).
Going by their recent form, Germans are expected to come out on top of the group. Germany have strong age-group teams and most of these players have come through various talent development programs launched with the aim of identifying promising youngsters at an early age. Star players like Mesut Ozil and Tony Cruz are products of such youth academies.
Let’s take a look at the Group C teams.
Germany
Nickname: Die Mannschaft
Past records: The German colts will be coming to India with a strong desire to cinch the elusive title. Their best performance so far came in the maiden U-17 FIFA World Cup hosted by China in 1985, where they finished runners-up. In 2007 and 2011, they lost in the semifinals to Nigeria and Mexico respectively. The third-place finish in 2007 was their best result in recent times.
Path to qualification: In the U-17 UEFA European Championship held in Croatia recently, Germany entered the semifinals by winning all their matches in the group stage. In the quarterfinals, they beat the Netherlands and booked a ticket to India. However, they lost to eventual champions Spain in the semifinals in a penalty shootout. The team scored seventeen goals and conceded just two in the five matches.
Coach: Christian Wuck who had 17 caps with the German U-21 national side. Though he could not achieve much as a player, Wuck has a glorious career as coach. He has been in charge of the U-17 side since 2012.
Key player: Striker Jann-Fiete Arp was unstoppable during the qualification rounds, scoring two hat-tricks in the U-17 Euro Championship. Arp, who plays for Hamburger FC in the German Youth League, has scored as many as 36 goals in 44 appearances.
Guinea
Nickname: Le Syli Cadet (Junior National Elephants)
Past records: In the inaugural FIFA U-17 World Cup, Guinea surprised everyone by finishing fourth. This will be Guinea’s fifth appearance in the tournament.
Path to qualification: In the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, they finished third and booked a ticket to India. The 5-1 win over Gabon and draws with Cameroon (1-1) and Ghana (0-0) saw them qualify for the biennial event. Guinea will be landing in India after preparatory camps in Italy and Abu Dhabi.
Strengths: Some of the players are members of junior teams of various clubs.
Weaknesses: The team lacks experience on the big stage.
Coach: A former playmaker himself, Souleymane Camara is young and an inspirational figure. The coach of Guinean first division side Satellite FC, Camara took over the reins of the U-17 squad last year.
Key player: Striker Djibril Fandje Toure, who finished as top scorer in the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations with six goals to win the competition’s golden boot award.
Costa Rica
Nickname: La Sele
Past records: India 2017 will be Costa Rica’s tenth appearance in the U-17 World Cup. Their most successful period came in the four tournaments between 2001 and 2007 and in 2015, when they reached the knockout stage on every occasion.
Path to qualification: They qualified for this year’s tournament by winning all their group matches in the U-17 CONCACAF championship, defeating Cuba, Canada and Suriname to reach the classification round. Though the tiny nation suffered a heavy 1-6 defeat at the hands of eventual champions Mexico in the semis, they finished third by posting a 2-1 win over Panama in the losers final.
Coach: Breansse Camacho, who took the reins of his country’s U-17 side in 2016, had been associated with various Costa Rican youth sides in the past. His vast experience would definitely benefit the youngsters.
Key players: Andres Gomez and Justin Mondero
Iran
Nickname: Nojavanan
Past records: After faltering at the qualification hurdle in the first eight tournaments, Iran’s first appearance in the U-17 World Cup was at Trinidad and Tobago 2001.
Path to qualification: In the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Iran routed Vietnam 5-0 in the quarterfinal and in the process advanced to India 2017. They beat Korea DPR in the semifinals via a penalty shoot-out before going down to Iraq in the final.
Coach: Abbas Chamanyan had been the coach of a number of local clubs before being appointed the U-17 coach. He was also the national U-20 squad’s coach. In 2004, he guided the U-17 team to a fourth-place finish in the AFC U-17 Championship, and a second-place finish last year.
Key players. Mohammad Ghaderi, Ali Reza Asadabadi, Allahyar Sayyad, and Mohammad Sharifi, who scored three goals each in the in the qualification rounds.
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