Imphal, Oct 6: The biggest football extravaganza for India, FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 kicks off today with four opening day matches to be played in Delhi and Mumbai.
Two Matches between Colombia and Ghana at 5 p.m.and Hosts India and the USA at 8 p.m. will be played at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Dr. DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai will be the venue for matches between New Zealand and Turkey and Paraguay and Mali.
This is the first time that India will be participating in a FIFA World Cup. In all 24 teams are participating, and 52 matches will be held in six city venues across the country upto 28th October. The event will be watched by a global audience of 200 million.
Football minnows India stand on the cusp of history as they make their debut in a FIFA event against USA, which is known for its man-to-man marking. India are placed in a tough Group A along with United States, Colombia and two-time champions Ghana. USA are the clear favourites in the Group, but India would enjoy the home advantage in today’s match.
Indian coach De Matos has said his focus would be on strong defence and not to concede goals. His strategy would be to rely on smooth and swift transitions from defence to offence and hit on the counter-attacks.