Oceania U-17 champions New Zealand have a tough task ahead after being drawn in Group B alongside Uruguay, Cote d’Ivoire and Italy.
Uruguay are preparing for their third consecutive FIFA U-17 World Cup appearance. They were quarter-finalists at Italy 1991 and Nigeria 2009 and the young Charruas produced their best performance in the competition at Mexico 2011, where they finished runners-up.
Coached by Fabian Coito, the man who steered the class of 2011 to second place, Uruguay scored freely at April’s South American U-17 Championship in Argentina but left it late to book their place in the UAE qualifying for the world finals on the final day.
World finalists for the sixth time, Uruguay are expected to feature prominantly at UAE 2013 having been the top scoring team in the South American qualifiers, with front man Franco Acosta the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals.
UAE 2013 will be the fourth time that Cote d’Ivoire will compete on the global stage. Their best finish was at their first appearance in 1987, when they were beaten by USSR in the semi-finals, but went on to beat Italy in the play-off for third place.
At the last finals in Mexico two years ago they finished runner-up in their group behind Brazil, only to be knocked out by France in the last 16. In Souleymane Coulibaly they did however have the top scorer with the Italian-based striker, who was signed by Tottenham Hotspur after the tournament, scoring nine goals in the four matches he played.
Ibrahim Kamara’s side had a tough task on their hands at the CAF U-17 African Championships in Morocco to qualify for the showpiece event in the age group, drawn into the so-called Group of Death where they faced two powerhouses of U-17 football in Ghana and Nigeria.
After advancing through each stage they secured their first-ever African championship with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory against Nigeria in the final.
Italy have graced the global stage a total of six times at this level. Their most successful campaign came at Canada 1987 when they reached the semi-finals, and they were back for more in 1991 and 1993, only to exit after the group stage on both occasions.
That heralded a 12-year absence, before Gli Azzurrini returned to the final tournament at Peru 2005 where they once again couldn’t exit the group stage. However their fortunes improved at Nigeria 2009 when they were only stopped in their tracks by evenutal victors Switzerland in the last eight.
Italy contested 11 games between their opening qualifier for the UEFA European U-17 Championship and the final itself, losing just one – a 3-2 defeat by Hungary in their last outing in the first qualifying round, when they had already sealed their progress.
Once through to the continental showcase in Slovakia, they kicked off with a goalless draw against Group B rivals Croatia, before seeing off Ukraine and playing out a 1-1 draw with Russia, with whom they were eventually reunited in the final. Second place in the section earned them their spot at the FIFA U-17 World Cup United Arab Emirates 2013, and Italy followed up by downing the hosts 2-0 in the last four. Their dreams of lifting the trophy were shattered in the decider, however, as Russia were crowned European champions following their penalty shoot-out win at the end of a goalless stalemate.
UAE 2013 will mark New Zealand’s sixth appearance in the U-17 World Cup and it is perhaps a tournament in which New Zealand has more historical pedigree than any other FIFA event. Since debuting at Egypt 1997 they have had mixed results with the pinnacle to date being Nigeria 2009 where they etched their name into the nation’s football annals by becoming the first Kiwi team to progress to the knockout phase of a FIFA tournament. They repeated the feat at Mexico 2011 providing further proof of a flourishing production line.
New Zealand were in control throughout most of April’s six-nation qualifying tournament held in Vanuatu. A 9-0 opening win against Cook Islands set the tone for a very different experience compared to two years earlier, when the Kiwis were pushed hard en-route to Mexico 2011. This time around they had a scare only against Fiji who held the Young All Whites until midway through the second half. Ultimately, New Zealand cruised to a six-point winning margin over second-placed New Caledonia, winning all five matches scoring 23 goals and conceding just three.
New Zealand’s impressive and mature showings at the past two FIFA U-17 tournaments is strong evidence of the nation’s development over recent years. Former English professional Darren Bazeley has the reins this time and is well-versed in the national team environment, having featured as assistant over the past two campaigns. The squad features a handful of overseas based professionals, with the majority of the team based in Auckland competing in the New Zealand national youth league season prior to the qualifiers.
The 52-match FIFA U–17 World Cup UAE 2013 will be played between 17 October and 8 November in the six host cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Sharjah and Al Ain.
Group stage draw for the FIFA U–17 World Cup UAE 2013:
Group A (Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah): United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Brazil, Slovakia
Group B (Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi): Uruguay, New Zealand, Côte d’Ivoire, Italy
Group C (Fujairah, Sharjah): Croatia, Morocco, Panama, Uzbekistan
Group D (Sharjah, Fujairah): Tunisia, Venezuela, Russia, Japan
Group E (Dubai, Al Ain): Canada, Austria, Iran, Argentina
Group F (Al Ain, Dubai): Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq, Sweden
Story courtesy of FIFA.com
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