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Come October, India’s biggest ever sporting event, the FIFA U-17 World Cup, is set to kick off. The last time India hosted such a major sporting event was the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Preparations are in full-swing for the mega event, and stadiums are being handed over to FIFA's Local Organizing Committee (LOC) as the tournament approaches its opening.
The entire nation will be looking forward to this tournament and the success of the event would prove to be vital in popularizing the sport in the country. Future superstars of world football will be taking their first steps in their bid to reach the epitome.
On that note, continuing the countdown of Sportskeeda’s ‘FIFA U-17 World Cup-10 things to know’ series, we bring to you the next set of trivia and facts.
#1 The Colombian team is nicknamed “Los Cafeteros”, or the coffee-growers, the nickname hinting at their major production
#2. More editions of the U-17 World Cup have been held in Asia than in any other continent. The campaign in India will be the fifth after those staged in China (1985), Japan (1993), Korea Republic (2007) and United Arab Emirates (2013).
#3 Souleymane Coulibaly (Cote d’ Ivoire), Florent Sinama-Pongolle (France) and Marcel Witeczek (Germany) are the only three men to have scored two hat tricks in FIFA U-17 World Cup.
#4. 14-year-old Freddy Adu scored a hat trick in FIFA U-17 World Cup 2013 and followed it up with a hat trick in FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2007 to become the first footballer to achieve a hat trick at the World Cups of both age levels.
#5 Out of those who have played both the FIFA U-17 World Cup as well as the FIFA World Cup, Iker Casillas is the only footballer who has won FIFA World Cup as a captain (in 2010)
#6 Ghana reached the final four times in a row (1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997), winning twice (1991 and 1995).
#7 New Zealand has been at the receiving end of some of the worst defeats in FIFA U-17 World Cup. They were beaten 13-0 by Spain in 1997, Brazil beat them 7-0 in 2007, Uruguay defeated them 7-0 in 2013 and Japan also defeated them 6-0 in 2011
#8 Ghana’s return to the finals ten years after finishing fourth in the Korea Republic 2007 is the longest break between appearances among the 24 sides competing in India.
#9 Two sides have netted over a century of goals in the U-17 World Cup, namely Brazil and Nigeria with 166 and 149 respectively. Spain is on 97 and could reach the 100 mark in India, along with Mexico (97), Germany (92) and Ghana (86)
#10 If two or more players score the same number of goals, the winner of the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament, goes to the one with more number of assists.
Keep following the series for more wacky and interesting facts about next month's FIFA U-17 World Cup which will be live and exclusive on SONY TEN 2 and SONY TEN 3.
