'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi has hailed India's 'unreal' atmosphere during the U-17 World Cup in 2017, stating that he's never seen anything like it before.
In case you didn't know
The FIFA U-17 World Cup took place in India in 2017, marking the first time the nation hosted a FIFA tournament in its history and the first time an Asian country hosted the U-17 World Cup since 2013.
Twenty-three teams went head-to-head in games that were played in six stadiums across the country. The final took place at the Salt Lake Stadium in West Bengal and was played between England and Spain.
The Three Lions emerged victorious after establishing a thumping 5-2 win over Spain to become only the second nation to win both of their under-age World Cups in the same year.
The attendance at the tournament was a staggering 1,347,133 and overtook China's decades-long record of 1,230,976.
The heart of the matter
In his recent article for the Players Tribune, Hudson-Odoi heaped praise on India for their love of football and the atmosphere they created during the World Cup. The English forward wrote, "By the way, that tournament? Man … India put on a party for that World Cup. You’ve never seen football like it. That World Cup had sellout crowds — like proper sellout. I’m talking 60,000 in a stadium to watch teenagers kick ball."
"India is amazing. They love football so much, and I hope we can run that tournament back one day for the senior teams. I scored the first goal for England in the 4–0 win over Chile in the group stage … and the noise after from the crowd? Woii … the noise. You’d hear the crowd just erupt and you wouldn’t be able to hear anything. Anything."
The Chelsea star added that Monaco defender Jonathan Panzo, who was a part of the triumphant English squad, would scream instructions at him during games because the Indian crowd was so loud.
"My best friend out in India was Jonathan Panzo. We came up through the Chelsea youth teams together, and he’d be screaming instructions at me during games, and I’d have no idea what he’d be saying."
He added, "Playing in India is unreal: there’s the noise, but there’s also the fans – and the HEAT. Once we got used to everything though, there was a feeling in our dressing room that we could win the tournament."
What's next?
Hudson-Odoi is out for the season owing to a Achilles injury he picked up in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Burnley last month.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have cemented their place in the Premier League top four and will return to the Champions League next season.
