2015 runners-up Mali face Paraguay

MUMBAI: As India steadies itself to host its most iconic football congregation in form of the Fifa U-17 World Cup on Friday; Navi Mumbai will host 2015 runners up Mali who take on South American dark horses Paraguay in the headline game of Group B at the DY Patil Stadium at 8PM.

Proceedings in Navi Mumbai though, will get underway three hours prior to the marquee clash with New Zealand taking on European heavyweights Turkey in the Group B’s opening game.

Turkey who come off rather disappointing preparatory operations; losing all three games in the St. George’s Park Tournament in England will hold an technical edge over the Kiwis according to their under-17 coach Mehmet Hacioglu.

“All our rivals are possibly stronger than us physically and much bigger in size. But our advantage against New Zealand is that we have a much more skilled and technical team,” said Hacioglu.

For the South Pacific island nation their strength lies in their ability to read and adapt to their rivals game.

New Zealand’s U-17 coach Danny Hay also says that their warm up matches against Brazil and England last week will aid in their combating of Turkey’s technical prowess.

Meanwhile, Mali, who come into the tournament on the back of an impressive continental championship triumph and Paraguay who are the only team to have held Brazil in South American U-17 championship are highly favoured to progress to the next round.

Mali could even lift the title according to Paraguay U-17 coach Gustavo Morinigo but says that his team are adequately prepared to challenge the African nations having adjusted to the time difference.

“We know that Mali is a strong team. They are one of the favourites to win,” said Morinigo.