FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: India placed in tough group with two-time champions Ghana, US and Colombia

Mumbai: Hosts India were on Friday drawn with two-time champions Ghana, United States and Colombia in a tough Group A of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. India will kick off their campaign against the US on 6 October before taking on Colombia on 9 October. The hosts will conclude the first phase with a match against Ghana, winners in 1991 and 1995, on 12 October in New Delhi. The first match of the tournament will be between Colombia and Ghana (Group A) and New Zealand versus Turkey (Group B) in New Delhi and Mumbai respectively. [caption id=“attachment_3788455” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The final draw of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017.[/caption] India, by virtue of being hosts, were the first to be placed in Group A in the draw in which Rio Olympics silver medal winning shuttler PV Sindhu and Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri took part along with football legends Esteban Cambiasso of Argentina and Nwanko Kanu of Nigeria. India will play their three Group A games in New Delhi while the other five cities earmarked for the 6-28 October tournament are Mumbai, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati and Kolkata, which will also host the final. Two teams from each group along with the four best third-placed teams in the preliminary phase will move to the round of 16, to be held from 16 October. The quarter-finals are to be held on 21 and 22 October followed by the two semi-finals on 25 October in Guwahati and Navi Mumbai. The third place game and the final are both scheduled in Kolkata on 28 October. India, New Caledonia and Niger are making their debuts in the tournament. The groups: Group A: India, USA, Ghana, Colombia Group B: Turkey, Mali, New Zealand, Paraguay Group C: Iran, Guinea, Germany, Costa Rica Group D: North Korea, Niger, Brazil, Spain Group E: Honduras, Japan, New Caledonia, France Group F: Iraq, Mexico, Chile, England.