This World Cup has made it evident that, like the under-20 event, under-17 football is closer to the PRACTICES AT THE SENIOR LEVEL than ever before. The trend is likely to sustain. As football gets more standardised globally, perhaps the traditional heavyweights will leave a deeper stamp on the under-17 stage, writes PRIYANSH.
At the first FIFA under-16World Tournament inChina 32 years ago, the precursor to the under-17 World Cup, there was an observation in the Chinese Organising Committee technical report which stays true to the day— “The youth players seem keener to attack than the adult players.”
The inaugural championship finished with 91 goals in 32 matches, an average of 2.84 per game. Those numbers have long been surpassed. But the 17th edition of the under-17World Cup has touched newer heights. 183 goals in 52 matches has set the record for the most number of goals in the tournament’s history. Although the average of 3.52 goals permatch is not the highest ever— that honours stays with the 2003 championship in Finland — it is an incredible tally.
Former England defender Sol Campbell, part of FIFA’s Technical Study Group for the under-17 World Cup in India, alluded to this fact while discussing the tournament in an interview to FIFA.com . “The games moved quickly from defence to attack and there was often some high pressing to go with that. There’s a lot of energy on show, teams demand to have the ball and place a lot of importance on possession.”
This story is from the November 11, 2017 edition of Sportstar.
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This story is from the November 11, 2017 edition of Sportstar.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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