Come October 7, the Goa part of the FIFA U-17 World Cup will kick off,
with Germany taking on Costa Rica, followed by Iran locking horns with Guinea.
A sum total of nine matches will be played in Goa, with the last one being a
quarter-final encounter on October 21. However, as is generally the case, some
matches will evidently matter more to fans than others, be it for the legendary
status of certain national teams or the marquee players that are the
up-and-coming talents of the footballing world.
I think that any of
the Germany matches and the Brazil match versus Niger will be good. Iran and Guinea
won’t be too interesting, in my opinion. Iraq are the Asian champs, but sadly,
they haven’t been drawn here. For those watching the televised games, all the
European and South American teams are interesting, but again, those aren’t
being played in Goa. The ‘Round of 16’ knockout game will be one to watch. The
potential teams are Paraguay/New Zealand/Turkey vs Chile/England/Mexico/Iraq.
Both the knockout games and quarter final will be really something.
AKIO FERNANDES
Personally, I think
that Friday the 13th is the best tie. The October 13 encounter has Brazil
playing Niger, and you get to watch Vinícius Júnior, the 40 million pound
Brazilian kid who signed for Real Madrid. I hear that Germany is promising, as
is the Costa Rica side; Iran are AFC Cup runners-up, so they’ll be a good team
to watch too…tough guys.
UDDHAV WELINKAR
