FIFA U-17 World Cup: Indian youngsters set to travel US, Mexico and Australia for further exposure

What’s the story?

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is pulling all stops so as to ensure that the India Under-17 team gets the best possible exposure by playing against competitive opponents ahead of the upcoming Under-17 World Cup.

According to a report in Goal.com, the Luis Matos-coached side will travel to the United States of America following their ongoing European tour as they prepare for the World Cup in October this year. They will then take part in a youth tournament in Mexico before travelling to Australia.

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das told Goal.com, “Our Under-17 Indian team will travel to the US in July where we are in talks to play against their Under-17 national team. We will also play a tournament in Mexico where some top teams will participate.”

In case you didn’t know…

The Indian U-17 side is currently preparing in Europe where they are playing a string of top teams as part of their exposure trip. They have been performing well, having pulled off a few unlikely wins.Recently, the team thrashed Spanish team, Alcala, 11-1 in a one-sided affair. The huge win would have certainly boosted their confidence.

They have also played against the youth teams of several top clubs like SLC Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Parma.

The young colts have already played against the top sides in the U-17 circuit when they took part in the BRICS U-17 tournament featuring Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa apart from India.

The heart of the matter

The U-17 football team will play against the likes of Chile and Colombia in the youth tournament in Mexico. In Australia, they will play against New Caledonia and New Zealand. With a little less than 100 days to go for the gala event, such matches will surely benefit the young side.

Since the appointment of the Portuguese coach, Matos, the performance graph of the Indian side has only gone uphill. The team is unbeaten in their last nine fixtures and they will look to keep up their good form.

What’s next?

India will begin their World Cup campaign later this year in what will be the country’s first-ever FIFA competition. The tournament is scheduled to start on 6 October, 2017 and will feature the top 24 teams in the world.

Author’s take

Undoubtedly, such fixtures will only improve the quality of the U-17 side. Moreover, the exposure and experience that they are getting is huge and will help them mature.