Colombia U-17 coach confident of good showing in World Cup

IT WILL BE COLOMBIA’S SIXTH FIFA U17 WORLD CUP APPEARANCE THOUGH THEY HAVEN’T PLAYED THE LAST THREE EDITIONS OF THE TOURNAMENT.

The first to land in India for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Colombia coach Orlando Restrepo exuded confidence that his boys will put up a good show in the marquee junior event, starting October 6.

The South American nation is placed in Group A and will play two of its group matches in New Delhi and one match in Navi Mumbai.

Los Cafeteros coach Restrepo said: “We are delighted to be here. The boys and the staff are all looking forward to a competitive tournament where we will put our best foot forward.”

It will be Colombia’s sixth FIFA U-17 World Cup appearance though they haven’t played the last three editions with Nigeria 2009 being the last FIFA U-17 World Cup they took part in. The CONMEBOL team secured their World Cup berth by finishing third in the South American U-17 Championship that was held earlier this year.

Speaking about the first team’s arrival, Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi said, “It is very exciting to have Colombia as the first team coming into the country. With their arrival, the tournament now enters into the last stage, with the national teams starting their preparations actually on-ground to get used to the conditions in India.

“We encourage all fans to welcome all the teams that will start arriving from now onwards and to show the hospitality of this wonderful country.”

Besides Colombia and hosts India, the 22 remaining teams will be landing in India over the course of the next two weeks.