The FIFA U-17 World Cup is fast approaching with barely two-weeks remaining for the global tournament India has finally announced the 21 member squad. Earlier the football federation confirmed Amarjit Singh would lead the team after players voted him as their leader.
The 21-member squad includes eight players from Manipur and two NRIs, Namit Deshpande, a United States national has a valid Indian passport while Sunny Dhaliwal has surrendered his Canadian passport and acquired an Indian one.
The host has been placed in a tough group which includes USA, Colombia and Ghana. The young guns will open their World Cup campaign on October 6 when they take on the United States at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
In an effort to field a strong team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) provided exposure tours for the India U-17s wherein the Indian Colts faced Macedonia, Serbia and Benfica amongst other teams. The Indian Colts had also participated in a Four-Nation Tournament in Mexico where they lost against Mexico and Colombia but held Chile to a 1-1 draw with ten-man.
Here are the 21-member squad for the upcoming U-17 World Cup:
Squad: (Goalkeepers) Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill, Sunny Dhaliwal. (Defenders): Boris Singh, Jitendra Singh, Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin, Hendry Antonay, Namit Deshpande. (Midfielders): Suresh Singh, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Abhijit Sarkar, Komal Thatal, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Md. Shahjahan. (Forwards): Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav.