The historic FIFA Under-17 World Cup tournament is just around the corner. India will be hosting and playing in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for the time. All eyes will be on the young players who have got the big opportunity to represent their country in a world FIFA tournament and that too in front of their home crowd. October 6 will mark the beginning of the tournament which will open the doors for the sport to flourish in India. The Colts will face the mammoth task of competing with the stalwart nations of the footballing world and staying in the tournament for as long as possible so as to grab as much attention as they can in order to benefit Indian football which, more often than not, gets eclipsed by the perennial cricket fever.
Here’s the list of full squad of the Indian team set to feature in FIFA Under-17 World Cup –
1. Dheeraj Singh, goalkeeper (Manipur)
Our Goal Keeper Dheeraj Singh and his roots.#BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC #KnowYourPlayers pic.twitter.com/CBvSSNyFBS
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 1, 2017
2. Prabhsukhan Gill, goalkeeper (Punjab)
Let’s take a glance at Prabhsukhan Gill’s favourites.#BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC #KnowYourPlayers pic.twitter.com/WoF5gIs576
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 25, 2017
3. Boris Singh, defender (Manipur)
#MeetThePlayers: Boris Singh Thangjam was a part of the #Indian U-16 squad that toured the #USA in 2016. #U17WorldCupKolkata #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/wlpTFViKu4
— u17worldcupkolkata (@u17worldcupkol) September 19, 2017
4. Jitendra Singh, defender (West Bengal)
‘Defender’ Jitendra Singh & his provenance.#BackTheBlue #KnowYourPlayers #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/okcgwwJQtq
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 30, 2017
5. Anwar Ali, defender (Punjab)
Anwar Ali and his origins.#BackTheBlue #KnowYourPlayers #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/mx5CLVzgIf
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 29, 2017
6. Sanjeev Stalin, defender (Karnataka)
Sanjeev Stalin is an @Arsenal fan and he admires Diego Maradona #FIFAU17WC #BackTheBlue pic.twitter.com/MdvoEXAt7p
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 2, 2017
7. Hendry Antonay, defender (Karnataka)
8. Suresh Singh, midfielder (Manipur)
Suresh Singh loves to watch @msdhoni ‘s biopic #BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/AKp779xG5M
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 2, 2017
9. Ninthoinganba Meetei, midfielder (Manipur)
Khumanthem Ninthoinganba and his origins.#BackTheBlue #KnowYourPlayers #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/fMtF4LvIul
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 29, 2017
10. Amrjit Singh Kiyam, midfielder (Manipur)
Amarjit-the midfield general.#BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC #INDvUSA pic.twitter.com/joPryLaXYj
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 21, 2017
11. Abhijit Sarkar, midfielder (West Bengal)
Midfielder Abhijit Sarkar hails from a place where football is religion. #BackTheBlue #KnowYourPlayers #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/J3oMGpSD7C
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 1, 2017
12. Komal Thatal, midfielder (Sikkim)
Midfielder Komal Thatal & his provenance.#BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC #KnowYourPlayers pic.twitter.com/qLRTTAbOO6
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 1, 2017
13. Lalengmawia, midfielder (Mizoram)
Today we take a look into the origins of Lalengmawia.#KnowYourPlayers #BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/PTNgvOV2cF
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 23, 2017
14. Jeakson Singh, midfielder (Manipur)
Jeakson Singh and his origins.#BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC #KnowYourPlayers pic.twitter.com/3B38nikKvK
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 27, 2017
15. Nongdamba Naorem, midfielder (Manipur)
Nongdamba Naorem is one of the many Manipuri talents in Indian Football. #KnowYourPlayers #BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/k7tBWyLf85
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 17, 2017
16. Rahul Kannoly Praveen, midfielder (Kerala)
Let’s get to know India U17 Defender Rahul Kannoly Praveen today.#BackTheBlue #FIFAU17WC #KnowYourPlayers pic.twitter.com/voRj5JbMbK
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 20, 2017
17. Md. Shahjahan, midfielder (Manipur)
Today we take a peek into the life of Mohammad Shahjahan.#FIFAU17WC #BackTheBlue #KnowYourPlayers pic.twitter.com/9auVNAbcUU
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 18, 2017
18. Rahim Ali, striker (West Bengal)
19. Aniket Jadhav, striker (Maharashtra)
Ankit Jadhav and his origins.#BackTheBlue #KnowYourPlayers #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/NbnRM4M0UF
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 29, 2017
India’s Under-17 football team is heavily dominated by players from the North-East. 8 players from Manipur are gearing up to play in the prestigious event. Apart from the above-mentioned 19 players, there are 2 NRI players— defender Namit Deshpande and goalkeeper Sunny Dhaliwal.
20. Namit Deshpande, defender (NRI)
India U17 defender Namit Deshpande is all set to make his mark at the #FIFAU17WC. All you have to do is #BackTheBlue. pic.twitter.com/Txp1XipQH2
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 1, 2017
21. Sunny Dhaliwal, goalkeeper (NRI)
Sunny Dhaliwal is one goalie whom an attacker won’t want to face on the pitch. He’s our GenNext Hero #FIFAU17WC #BackTheBlue #PlayInspire pic.twitter.com/hH6QVC9aFP
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 2, 2017
Coach: Luis Norton de Matos
India U17 Head coach Norton de Matos has a message for his boys for the upcoming #FIFAU17WC. pic.twitter.com/JGCx2U5gDQ
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 18, 2017
The Colts had got to play in a few international matches in the previous months. They played and unfortunately lost against big teams like Colombia and Mexico. However, they were able to draw a match against Chile with the final scoreline reading 1-1. If a situation like this arises in the World Cup Finals, the game will go directly into penalty shootouts instead of going into extra time. They have also played against Macedonia, Serbia, Benfica and other teams, the experience of which might benefit them ahead of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
