The official draw for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup is less than a week away as excitement grows as to which teams the hosts, India, will face in the tournament starting October this year.
7th of July is the draw date, with stars like Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu set to grace the occasion.
The draw procedure will see the 24 qualified teams placed in four different pots. The teams will be sorted based on their record in past Under-17 World Cups.
Also Read: FIFA U17 World Cup 2017: Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu set to be the main guests at the draw
Apart from India, the following teams will be part of the draw for the year’s last FIFA event: Brazil, England, Honduras, Niger, Costa Rica, Chile, Ghana, France, New Zealand, North Korea, Guinea, Mali, Iran, Turkey, New Caledonia, Germany, Japan, USA, Paraguay, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Iraq.
As the hosts, India will be automatically placed in Pot 1 as well as Group A. A red ball will represent India at the drawing table, while blue balls will represent the other teams so as to highlight the hosts’ special status. The other 23 teams will be sorted according to their performances in the last five Under-17 World Cups.
With the absence of five-time champions Nigeria, Mexico remain the most prolific team from the past five Under-17 World Cups, while Brazil and Germany are also among the foremost performers. Mali’s run to the final of the Under-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015 means they are the only African team to be placed in Pot 1.
The rest of the pots are populated gradually with teams placed into ascending pot numbers based on descending number of points obtained in the past World Cups.
The four pots will be as follows:
Pot 1
India (Hosts)
Mexico
Brazil
Germany
Mali
France
Pot 2
Spain
Japan
New Zealand
England
Iran
USA
Pot 3
Costa Rica
North Korea
Honduras
Iraq
Colombia
Turkey
Pot 4
Chile
Paraguay
Ghana
Guinea
Niger
New Caledonia
As per the rules of the draw, the 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. No group shall have two teams from the same confederation, meaning India will avoid Japan, North Korea, Iran and Iraq in the group stage.
Furthermore, teams from the same pot will not be drawn together, hence India will also not have Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Mali and France as group stage opponents.
However, the Colts could face the likes of record European Under-17 champions Spain, England, Chile and Ghana in the World Cup’s early stages, therefore, qualification for the knockout stages will be a challenge for the hosts.
With Niger and New Caledonia, India are among the teams to have garnered zero points from the past five Under-17 World Cups. This year’s tournament will be the first time India have played in the Under-17 World Cup or any FIFA tournament for that matter.
All of India’s three group games will be staged in the capital city of New Delhi, with FIFA acceding to the host nation’s venue change request yesterday.
