FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Top 5 scorers in the history of the tournament

#3. Florent Sinama Pongolle- 9 goals in 6 matches

The former Liverpool and Atletico Madrid player won the Golden Boot as well as the Golden Ball at the 2001 U-17 World Cup

The 2001 FIFA U-17 World Cup saw France making their first appearance at the competition since 1987 and their first appearance since the tournament was named FIFA U-17 World Cup (the tournament had been called the FIFA U-16 World Cup from 1985-1989).

France had a poor start to the tournament as they lost their opening match against Nigeria with a 87th-minute goal from Florent Sinama Pongolle being a consolation one. However, France went on to win their next two group games against the United States and Japan, scoring 5 goals in both matches with Sinama Pongolle netting a hat-trick in each game.

The forward scored in France’s 2-1 win over Brazil in the quarter-finals, thus scoring the most number of goals in a single edition of the U-17 World Cup, bettering David’s and Ishmael Addo’s haul of 7 goals in 1997 and 1999.

His goal-scoring streak came to an end in the semi-finals but Les Bleus won the match 2-1 to reach the final where they were up against the opponents of their tournament opener- Nigeria. Once again, Sinama Pongolle scored France’s opening goal of the match and the team went on to score two more goals to avenge their group defeat and win the tournament.

Florent Sinama Pongolle not only won the Golden Boot but also the Golden Ball. His performances propelled Liverpool to sign him a few months later.