FIFA U17 World Cup : India wins hearts but loses game to USA
For FIFA U17 World Cup India Vs USA, all roads lead to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, as Delhi was out on the streets to watch India play their first ever match. With the FIFA U17 World Cup coming to India, this tournament is India’s big ticket to the main footballing stage. Paired in a group with USA, Colombia and Ghana, India looked to start on a high as they took on the mighty USA in their inaugural match of Group A.
With the pre-tournament events and ceremonies a success, all eyes turned to the Indian team as they played their biggest ever match till date. With New Zealand v. Turkey and Ghana v. Colombia throwing up a bunch of twists and turns and entertainment in the early 5pm kickoff, spectators were now ready to feast their eyes on FIFA U17 World Cup India vs USA match. Playing in front of a jam packed stadium with Prime Minister Modi also present, the men in blue looked pumped up as they stepped out on the pitch. The started with Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting both the Indian and the USA team accompanied by India’s Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, FIFA VP Sheikh Salman and FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samour.
There was a huge roar as the whistle blew off to mark the beginning of proceedings, and the spectators made their support for the home team visible as chants of India rang loud through the stadium. India started on a positive note as they looked well organised and played with a lot of vigour and intensity. Their organisation and resilience caused much problem to an USA side featuring MLS stars who were unable to find a way past the Indians. Depsite playing without a proper right-back, the Indian defence was well drilled and saw of hoard after hoard of American attack. It was however only a matter of time before a physically and tactically superior USA side opened the scoring after Josh Sargent converted a penalty in the 30th minute. Despite a brave performance the Indians were unable to cope up with USA who soon doubled their lead via Chris Durkin. With the game past them, India went on to concede a third before the final whistle brought an end to proceedings. It was not all gloom and doom though for the hosts as Komal Thatal and Aniket Jadhav impressed while Deere Singh was a rock in goal. A hard-fought performance by our boys showed that things are bright for the future . India will be next playing Colombia on Monday who also stumped to a 1-0 defeat against Ghana.
Recommended reading : FIFA U-17 World Cup Match Schedule
For more updates, do Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.