2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 17th FIFA U-17 World Cup, a biennial international football tournament contested by men's under-17 national teams. Organised by FIFA, the tournament took place in India from 6 to 28 October 2017, after the country was awarded the hosting rights on 5 December 2013. The tournament marked the first time India hosted a FIFA tournament and the second Asian country to host U-17 World Cup after United Arab Emirates in 2013. The attendance for this World Cup was a record 1,347,133, surpassing China's record in 1985 with 1,230,976.

2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Official logo
Tournament details
Host countryIndia
Dates6–28 October
Teams24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions England (1st title)
Runners-up Spain
Third place Brazil
Fourth place Mali
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored183 (3.52 per match)
Attendance1,347,133 (25,906 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Rhian Brewster (8 goals)
Best player(s)England Phil Foden
Best goalkeeperBrazil Gabriel Brazão
Fair play award Brazil
2015
2019

The matches were played in six stadiums in six host cities around the country, with the final taking place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. Twenty-three teams, besides the host India, managed to qualify for the tournament via participating in their various continental under-17 tournaments. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four for points, where the top two teams in each group along with the top four third placed teams would advance to the next round. These 16 teams will advance to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final.

The reigning champions, Nigeria, failed to qualify, becoming the first title holders fail to qualify for the subsequent edition since Switzerland in 2009.

England won the U-17 World Cup for the first time after coming back from a two-goal deficit and beating Spain 5–2 in the final.[1] This made England the second nation, after Brazil in 2003, to win both of FIFA's male age-capped (U-20 and U-17) World Cups in the same calendar year.[2][3] England has also become the third country, after Brazil and North Korea, to win both U-17 and U-20 World Cup in their respective gender tournaments on the same year, as North Korea had also won both U-17 and U-20 Women's World Cup the previous year. The official match ball used in the tournament was Adidas Krasava.

Host selection

The bids for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup had to be submitted by 15 November 2013.[4] On 28 May 2013 it was announced by FIFA that Azerbaijan, India, Republic of Ireland, and Uzbekistan would bid for the hosting rights.[5]

Finally, on 5 December 2013, FIFA announced that India had won the 2017 FIFA World Cup hosting rights.[6]

Qualified teams

As host, India made their first ever appearance at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and their first appearance in the World Cup at any age level.[7] As well as India, New Caledonia and Niger also made their first appearance in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.[8]

The previous U-17 World Cup title holders, Nigeria, failed to qualify for this edition. In failing to qualify, Nigeria became the first nation since Switzerland in 2009 to fail to qualify for the next edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup after winning the previous edition.[9]

A total of 24 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to India, the other 23 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions. Starting from 2017, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will receive an additional spot (in total two spots), while UEFA will have five instead of six spots.[10]

ConfederationQualifying TournamentQualifier(s)
AFC (Asia)Host Nation  India1
2016 AFC U-16 Championship  Iraq
 Iran
 Japan
 North Korea
CAF (Africa)2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations  Ghana
 Guinea
 Mali
 Niger1
CONCACAF
(Central, North America and Caribbean)
2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship  Costa Rica
 Honduras
 Mexico
 United States
CONMEBOL (South America)2017 South American Under-17 Championship  Brazil
 Chile
 Colombia
 Paraguay
OFC (Oceania)2017 OFC U-17 Championship  New Caledonia1
 New Zealand
UEFA (Europe)2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship  England
 France
 Germany
 Spain
 Turkey
1.^ Teams that will make their debut.

Organization

Preparation

Vijay Goel and Praful Patel at MXIM Launch

The six venues selected for the tournament were given major renovations prior to the FIFA U-17 World Cup.[11] All the stadiums were given new bucket seats, new dressing rooms, new evacuation exits for fans, and new training grounds.[11] Javier Ceppi, the Local Organising Committee director, stated that despite work starting slowly, things eventually became quicker. "It has been a long process in the last two and half years. In India, it takes time to start things but once things start it kind of picks its own pace and in terms of implementation I always say that India is a very good country when it comes to implementation."[12]

Emblem

The official emblem for the tournament was launched on 27 September 2016 at a hotel in Goa during the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship.[13] According to the press release from FIFA the emblem was designed "as a celebration of the country's richness and diversity of cultures, with the main elements of the Indian Ocean, the banyan tree, the kite and the starburst, which is an interpretation of the Ashoka Chakra, an integral part of the national identity."[13]

Tickets

Sales of tickets for the FIFA U-17 World Cup began on 16 May 2017 during a function in New Delhi. Carles Puyol was present during the ticket sales launch as special guest.[14] General ticket sales officially began on 17 May 2017 at 19:11. The time was selected as a tribute to when Mohun Bagan defeated East Yorkshire Regiment in the IFA Shield in 1911, marking the first time an Indian football club defeated a British side in British India.[14] Tickets for the tournament were sold in four phases: Phase one only sold tickets for categories 1 to 3 at each venue with a 60% discount while phase two allowed people to buy tickets for all categories, but only if you are a Visa card holder, at a 50% discount. Phase three allowed anyone to buy tickets with a 25% discount while phase four had tickets at full price.[15] The attendance for matches breached the million mark in the final match of the Round of 16, which made India only the third nation after China and Mexico to register an attendance of over a million for the event.[16] On 28 October 2017, in the 3rd place match-up between Brazil and Mali, India finally beat the existing record of 1,230,976 set in the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship edition in China[17] The final attendance figures were 1,347,133.

Mascot

Vijay Goel and Praful Patel with the Mascot, Kheleo

The mascot is "Kheleo", a Himalayan Clouded Leopard. He wears a jersey with the colours of white, yellow, green and orange. The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Vijay Goel, stated: "Kheleo is young, vibrant, enthustiatic and a perfect representation of our country. He will help us to involve kids in football in a fun way".

Theme song

The theme song for the 2017 U17 World Cup is called 'Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal' (कर के दिखला दे गोआल) which roughly translates to 'Show that you can score a goal', composed by Pritam and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya[18] features Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia along with Kerala Blasters co-owner Sachin Tendulkar and singer Babul Supriyo, who had designed the Mohun Bagan kit half a decade back.[19][20]

Venues

After being awarded the hosting rights for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, eight locations were shortlisted: Bangalore, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Margao, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.[21] On 29 May 2015, Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Guwahati were provisionally selected as host locations and was informed two more would be provisionally approved from the list ofBengaluru, Chennai, Goa, New Delhi and Pune.[22] On 27 October 2016, FIFA officially announced Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Margao, Navi Mumbai and New Delhi as the official host cities for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.[23]

KolkataKochiNew Delhi
Salt Lake Stadium
(Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan)
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
(Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium)
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Capacity: 66,600[24]Capacity: 41,700[24]Capacity: 58,000[24]
2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (India)
Navi MumbaiGuwahatiMargao
DY Patil Stadium
(Dr. DY Patil Stadium)
Indira Gandhi Athletic StadiumFatorda Stadium
(Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium)
Capacity: 41,000[24]Capacity: 23,800[24]Capacity: 16,200[24]


Draw

The draw for the FIFA U-17 World Cup was held on 7 July 2017 at the Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai, India.[25] The draw was attended by former U-17 World Cup champions Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria) and former U-20 World Cup champions Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina), as well as India senior international Sunil Chhetri and badminton player P. V. Sindhu.[25]

The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams, with hosts India being allocated to position A1.[26] The rest of the teams were allocated into their respective pots based on a ranking which was built according to past performances during the last five FIFA U-17 World Cups.[26] Importance was given to the most recent U-17 World Cups.[26]

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4

Referees

FIFA's Referees' Committee selected 21 referees, representing all six confederations, to officiate at the U-17 World Cup: Seven from UEFA, four from CONMEBOL, three each from the AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF, and one from the OFC.[27] Interestingly, no referee from host country India were selected to officiate.[27]

ConfederationRefereeAssistant refereesSupport referee
AFC Muhammad Taqi Lee Tzu Liang
Koh Min Kiat
Ri Hyang-ok
Ryuji Sato Toru Sagara
Hiroshi Yamauchi
Nawaf Shukralla Yaser Tulefat
Ebrahim Saleh
CAF Mehdi Abid Charef Albdelhak Etchiali
Anouar Hmila
Gladys Lengwe
Hamada Nampiandraza Arsenio Marengula
Yahaya Mahamadou
Bamlak Tessema Weyesa Olivier Safari
Mark Ssonko
CONCACAF Jair Marrufo Frank Anderson
Corey Rockwell
Carol Chenard
Ricardo Montero Octavio Jara
Juan Carlos Mora
John Pitti Gabriel Victoria
Christian Ramírez
CONMEBOL José Argote Luis Murillo
Carlos López
Claudia Umpierrez
Enrique Cáceres Eduardo Cardozo
Juan Zorrilla
Sandro Ricci Emerson de Carvalho
Marcelo Van Gasse
Gery Vargas Juan Pablo Montaño
Jose Alberto Antelo
OFC Abdelkader Zitouni Folio Moeaki
Bernard Mutukera
Anna-Marie Keighley
UEFA Ovidiu Hațegan Octavian Șovre
Sebastian Gheorghe
Kateryna Monzul
Esther Staubli
Bobby Madden David McGeachie
Alastair Mather
Anastasios Sidiropoulos Polychronis Kostaras
Lazaros Dimitriadis
Artur Soares Dias Rui Tavares
Paulo Soares
Anthony Taylor Gary Beswick
Adam Nunn
Clément Turpin Nicolas Danos
Cyril Gringore
Slavko Vinčić Tomaz Klancnik
Andraz Kovacic

Squads

Each team's squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup consisted of 21 players.[28] Each participating national association had to confirm their final 21-player squad by 21 September 2017.[28] A total of 504 players participated in the tournament. The squads were announced by FIFA on 26 September 2017.[29][30]

Group stage

The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16.

All times are local, IST (UTC+5:30).[31]

Tiebreakers

The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):[32]

  1. points obtained in all group matches;
  2. goal difference in all group matches;
  3. number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:

  1. points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  3. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  4. fair play points:
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point;
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
    • direct red card: minus 4 points;
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
  5. drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Ghana320151+46Knockout stage
2  Colombia320153+26[a]
3  United States320153+26[a]
4  India (H)300319−80
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
Colombia  0–1  Ghana
Report
India  0–3  United States
Report

Ghana  0–1  United States
Report
India  1–2  Colombia
Report

Ghana  4–0  India
Report
United States  1–3  Colombia
Report

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Paraguay3300105+59Knockout stage
2  Mali320184+46
3  New Zealand301248−41
4  Turkey301227−51
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
New Zealand  1–1  Turkey
Report
Paraguay  3–2  Mali
Report

Turkey  0–3  Mali
Report
  • D. Traoré 38'
  • N'Diaye 68'
  • Konaté 86'
Paraguay  4–2  New Zealand
Report

Turkey  1–3  Paraguay
Report
Mali  3–1  New Zealand
  • Jiddou 18'
  • D. Traoré 50'
  • N'Diaye 82'
Report
  • Spragg 72'

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Iran3300101+99Knockout stage
2  Germany320156−16
3  Guinea301248−41
4  Costa Rica301237−41
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Germany  2–1  Costa Rica
Report
  • Gómez 64'
Iran  3–1  Guinea
Report

Costa Rica  2–2  Guinea
Report
Iran  4–0  Germany
Report

Costa Rica  0–3  Iran
Report
Guinea  1–3  Germany
  • I. Soumah 26'
Report

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Brazil330061+59Knockout stage
2  Spain320172+56
3  Niger310216−53
4  North Korea300305−50
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Brazil  2–1  Spain
Report
North Korea  0–1  Niger
Report
  • Abdourahmane 59'

Spain  4–0  Niger
Report
North Korea  0–2  Brazil
Report

Spain  2–0  North Korea
Report
Niger  0–2  Brazil
Report

Group E

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  France3300143+119Knockout stage
2  Japan311184+44
3  Honduras3102711−43
4  New Caledonia3012213−111
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
New Caledonia  1–7  France
Report
Honduras  1–6  Japan
  • Palacios 36'
Report

France  2–1  Japan
Report
Honduras  5–0  New Caledonia
Report

France  5–1  Honduras
Report
Japan  1–1  New Caledonia
Report

Group F

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  England3300112+99Knockout stage
2  Iraq311145−14
3  Mexico302134−12
4  Chile301207−71
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Chile  0–4  England
Report
Iraq  1–1  Mexico
Report

England  3–2  Mexico
Report
Iraq  3–0  Chile
Report

England  4–0  Iraq
Report
Mexico  0–0  Chile
Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

The four best teams among those ranked third are determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):[32]

  1. points obtained in all group matches;
  2. goal difference in all group matches;
  3. number of goals scored in all group matches;
  4. fair play points;
  5. drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1A  United States320153+26Knockout stage
2E  Honduras3102711−43
3D  Niger310216−53
4F  Mexico302134−12
5B  New Zealand301248−41[a]
6C  Guinea301248−41[a]
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Fair play points; 5) Drawing of lots.
Notes:

Knockout stage

In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, the match is determined by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).[32]

In the round of 16, the four third-placed teams were matched with the winners of groups A, B, C, and D. The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depend on which four third-placed teams qualified for the round of 16:[32]

Third-placed teams
qualify from groups
1A
vs
1B
vs
1C
vs
1D
vs
ABCD3C3D3A3B
ABCE3C3A3B3E
ABCF3C3A3B3F
ABDE3D3A3B3E
ABDF3D3A3B3F
ABEF3E3A3B3F
ACDE3C3D3A3E
ACDF3C3D3A3F
ACEF3C3A3F3E
ADEF3D3A3F3E
BCDE3C3D3B3E
BCDF3C3D3B3F
BCEF3E3C3B3F
BDEF3E3D3B3F
CDEF3C3D3F3E

Bracket

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
16 October – New Delhi
 
 
 Colombia0
 
22 October – Kolkata
 
 Germany4
 
 Germany1
 
18 October – Kochi
 
 Brazil2
 
 Brazil3
 
25 October – Kolkata
 
 Honduras0
 
 Brazil1
 
16 October – New Delhi
 
 England3
 
 Paraguay0
 
21 October – Margao
 
 United States5
 
 United States1
 
17 October – Kolkata
 
 England4
 
 England (p)0 (5)
 
28 October – Kolkata
 
 Japan0 (3)
 
 England5
 
17 October – Margao
 
 Spain2
 
 Mali5
 
21 October – Guwahati
 
 Iraq1
 
 Mali2
 
18 October – Navi Mumbai
 
 Ghana1
 
 Ghana2
 
25 October – Navi Mumbai
 
 Niger0
 
 Mali1
 
17 October – Guwahati
 
 Spain3Third place play-off
 
 France1
 
22 October – Kochi28 October – Kolkata
 
 Spain2
 
 Spain3  Brazil2
 
17 October – Margao
 
 Iran1  Mali0
 
 Iran2
 
 
 Mexico1
 

Round of 16

Colombia  0–4  Germany
Report

Paraguay  0–5  United States
Report

Iran  2–1  Mexico
Report

France  1–2  Spain
Report


Mali  5–1  Iraq
  • Dramé 25'
  • N'Diaye 33', 90+4'
  • Konaté 73'
  • S. Camara 87'
Report
  • Kareem 85'

Ghana  2–0  Niger
Report

Brazil  3–0  Honduras
Report

Quarter-finals

Mali  2–1  Ghana
  • Dramé 15'
  • D. Traoré 61'
Report

United States  1–4  England
Report

Spain  3–1  Iran
Report

Germany  1–2  Brazil
Report

Semi-finals

Brazil  1–3  England
Report

Mali  1–3  Spain
Report

Third place play-off

Brazil  2–0  Mali
Report

Final

England  5–2  Spain
Report

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.[86] They were all sponsored by Adidas, except for the FIFA Fair Play Award.

Golden BallSilver BallBronze Ball
Phil Foden Sergio Gomez Rhian Brewster
Golden BootSilver BootBronze Boot
Rhian Brewster
(8 goals, 1 assist,
540 minutes played)
Lassana N'Diaye
(6 goals, 0 assists,
603 minutes played)
Abel Ruiz
(6 goals, 0 assists,
618 minutes played)
Golden Glove
Gabriel Brazão
FIFA Fair Play Award
 Brazil

Final ranking

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsFinal result
1  England7610236+1719Champions
2  Spain75021710+715Runners-up
3  Brazil7601145+918Third place
4  Mali74031611+512Fourth place
5  Iran5401135+812Eliminated in
Quarter-finals
6  Ghana530283+59
7  United States5302117+49
8  Germany530297+29
9  France4301155+109Eliminated in
Round of 16
10  Paraguay4301101009
11  Colombia420257−26
12  Japan412184+45
13  Iraq4112510−54
14  Honduras4103714−73
15  Niger410318−73
16  Mexico402246−22
17  New Zealand301248−41Eliminated in
Group stage
18  Guinea301248−41
19  Costa Rica301237−41
20  Turkey301227−51
21  Chile301207−71
22  New Caledonia3012213−111
23  North Korea300305−50
24  India300319−80
Source: FIFA

Goalscorers

8 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
  • Wesley (against Spain)
  • Diego Valencia (against Iraq)
  • Bernard Iwa (against France)
  • Kiam Wanesse (against France)
2 own goals

Source: FIFA

Marketing

Sponsorships

FIFA partnersNational Supporters

Broadcasting

FIFA released the media licensing rights for the U-17 World Cup on 21 September 2017.[93] In India, the official broadcaster was Sony TEN and Sony ESPN.[94] In the United States, the tournament was broadcast on Fox Sports 2 while the United Kingdom had the tournament broadcast on Eurosport.[95]

Legacy

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was regarded as a success by the media, FIFA and the tournament organisers.[96] Jaime Yarza, Head of FIFA Tournaments, said, "It's been a fantastic tournament with an overwhelming response of everybody involved. First and foremost, the fans have filled the stadiums in all the matches, showing fair play and respect, cheering on all the teams, and really loving the football they have seen. The figures speak for themselves: more than 1.2 million fans attended games at the stadiums. By the final matchday, we’re probably going to break the [attendance] record of all the other U-17 World Cups and we might even break the record for the U-20 World Cup, which is an amazing achievement. It really shows that India is a footballing nation in every sense. The hard work put in place during so many years has received a great response from everybody. It has been a very proud moment for all of us."[97]

The tournament was the most attended and highest scoring edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in history. It was also the highest attended men's age-group World Cup ever, surpassing the attendance record of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The attendance for this World Cup was a record 1,347,133 surpassing China's 1985 edition where it was 1,230,976, and the 2011 U-20 World Cup in Colombia which was attended by 1,309,929 people.[98]

The 177 goals scored during the tournament made it the highest scoring U-17 World Cup in history, surpassing the previous record of 172 during the 2013 edition in the United Arab Emirates. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup also recorded the highest goal average of 3.40 per match since the tournament format was expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams in 2007.[98]

In September 2017, India submitted a bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[99] but lost to Poland. India was selected to host the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup by the FIFA Council on 15 March 2019.[100]

Notes

References

External links