The draw was done yesterday in India ahead of the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup and the Black Starlets of Ghana will starting their journey in the competition with Columbia, followed by USA and India in the final group game.
Columbia were 3rd in their confederation with USA placing second behind Mexico in CONCACAF while India is by virtue of being the host nation.
We take a closer look at the Ghana’s group opponents and how they made it to the World Cup.
Next is Columbia.
FIFA U-17 World Cup record
India 2017 will be Colombia’s sixth appearance at a FIFA U-17 World Cup and their first since Nigeria 2009, when they finished third and matched their previous best performance at the tournament, dating back to Finland 2003. In their other appearances, Los Cafeteros reached the Round of 16 at Korea Republic 2007 but exited at the group stage at both Scotland 1989 and Japan 1993.
The road to India
Colombia secured their World Cup berth by virtue of their third-placed finish at this year’s South American U-17 Championship. Two wins, one draw and one defeat saw them take second place in Group A behind Chile and move comfortably into the hexagonal final phase. Things were more complicated there, though, with an opening victory over Ecuador (2-1) followed by a draw with Venezuela and losses to Chile (1-0) and Brazil (3-0). With World Cup qualification on the line, they then bounced back with a 2-1 win over Paraguay to seal their passage.
The coach
Though never a professional player, Colombian Orlando Restrepo has been a lifetime student of the game. On top of that he is also a sports technology practitioner and physical education instructor. The 60-year-old has racked up extensive coaching experience at club level in his homeland, Bolivia and Costa Rica while enjoying a successful spell with Atletico Nacional’s U-17 side between 2013 and 2015. He has been in charge of the national U-17 team since August 2016.
The stat
3 - The number of goals scored by each of Santiago Barrero, Juan Penaloza and Jaminton Campaz. Between them, the trio accounted for 75 per cent of Colombia’s goal tally during the qualifying event.
Credit: Fifa.com
By: Sheikh Tophic Sienu @desheikh1 on twitter