England, Germany and Spain qualify for U17 World Cup

European football powerhouses England, Germany and Spain have qualified for the FIFA Under- 17 World Cup in India after the latest round of the UEFA U-17 European Championship in Croatia.

England beat Republic of Ireland 1-0 at Velika Gorica while Germany defeated the Netherlands 2-1 at Zapresic in U-17 EURO quarter-finals to book their berths. They join Spain and Turkey in qualifying for the prestigious FIFA tournament to be held in India from October 6 to 28.

The fifth and final European spot for India 2017 will be determined via a play-off between Hungary and France, the bestranked losing quarter-finalists, on May 16 in Zagreb.

In the semifinals on Tuesday, Spain will face Germany at Varazdin, while Turkey take on England at Zapresic.

For England and Germany, this would be their second consecutive U-17 World Cup appearance. For Germany, it would be their 10th overall.

Iran, Iraq, Japan and North Korea, besides hosts India have qualified from Asia, while Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay have done so from South America.

New Zealand and New Caledonia will represent Oceania while United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras will do so from CONCACAF, continental football Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbeans.

CHHETRI IN DOUBT

NEW DELHI: Star striker Sunil Chhetri is in doubt for India’s Asian Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan as well as the international friendly against Lebanon next month, according to his I-League club Bengaluru FC’s chief executive officer. In a letter sent to All India Football Federation complaining about the cramped scheduling of the ongoing Federation Cup in Cuttack, Bengaluru FC CEO Parth Jindal has blamed the fixture for Chhetri’s injury. On Friday, Chhetri limped out of Bengaluru FC’s last group match against Mohun Bagan with a suspected muscle tear. He has undergone a scan to determine just how bad his injury could be. Chhetri is all but ruled out of Federation Cup final scheduled for May 21.