Dame fortune did not favour India at the U-17 Fifa World Cup draw in Mumbai on Friday. As hosts, India were among the six seeded teams along with thrice champions Brazil, 2005 and 2011 champions Mexico, runners-up in 2015 Mali, Germany and 2001 champions France. So India were sure of not having any one of these five powerhouses in their group.
According to a Fifa ruling countries from the same confederation, should not be in the same group. This implied that India would not be playing against the other four Asian qualifiers, Iraq, Iran, Japan and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. So these nine countries, India avoided in the draw.
From Pot 2, Japan and Iran could not be in India’s group. India’s coach Luis Norton de Matos would have been keeping his fingers crossed that New Zealand would be pulled from the pot. Instead, USA was drawn and they play India in the opening match on October 6 at 8 pm at the Nehru Stadium here in Delhi.
Of the six teams in Pot 3, India were sure of not playing Iraq (AFC U-16 winners in 2016) and DPR Korea. India would have preferred to play against Honduras but the luck of the draw went against them. Colombia, third in the South American qualifiers were drawn in India’s group. India play Colombia on October 9 at 8 pm.
Colombia, a dangerous team, are making their sixth appearance in this tournament. They finished third in both 2003 and 2009. Their coach Orlando Restrepo, said that they believe in possession football and rely on quick breakaway moves. This talented team accustomed to heat and humidity could be a formidable foe. The unkindest cut of them all was from the draw of Pot 4.
India were hoping to have played against U-17 World Cup debutants New Caledonia or Niger. However the toughest team in this pot, Ghana, champions in 1991 and 1995 will now play against India in their last Group A match on October 12 at 8 pm.
The wry smile and occasional grimace on the face of the All India Football Federation president, Praful Patel, as he watched the draw ceremony exemplified India’s predicament. Coach Luis Norton’s bold prediction that India can reach the U-17 World Cup quarter finals seems quite hollow now, considering the tough group.
The top two teams from the six groups and the four best qualifiers will progress to the round of 16, commencing on 16 October. India’s best chance of reaching the knockout stage will be to qualify as one of the four best third placed teams.
Even if India do manage to reach the round of 16, progressing further will be difficult.
If India finish third in Group A, they could either meet the Group B winners on October 16 or the Group C winners the following day. The likely winners of Group B, are Mali, the current African U-17 champions. Germany renowned for their age group development programmes or mighty Iran could be Group C winners.
In the AFC U-16 championships in Goa, in September 2016, Iran beat India 3-0.
So India’s interest in the Fifa U-17 World Cup could end before Diwali.
