fifa-u17-world-cup-2017

Updated: Oct 06, 2017 10:11 IST

The USA U-17 football team has been an impressive unit in the last couple of years. The side has tasted a lot of success and although they finished runners up in the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championships, their attacking prowess was something that was recognised by experts.

The trio of Josh Sargent, Timothy Weah and Ayo Akinola (who scored a total of 11 goals in the tournament) is currently one of the most feared attacking line-ups in the world and coach John Hackworth is relishing this ‘problem of plenty’ ahead of their FIFA U-17 World Cup opener against India on Friday.

“That is a good headache to have. We have a great depth when it comes to the squad and our strike power is really impressive. However, there are no more questions about team composition and we are somewhat sure about the side that will play on Friday,” Hackworth said at the press conference.

(Read | FIFA U-17 World Cup: India braced for biggest day in football history)

Jack Hackworth’s side was victorious when these sides met at the 2016 AIFF Youth Cup in Goa. The USA team was quite dominant against the hosts last time, but Hackworth believes it’ll be a different challenge playing the first game of the World Cup before the Indian home crowd.

(Read | FIFA U-17 World Cup: Demand for tickets highest in Guwahati followed by Kolkata)

“They (India) are the hardest working teams that I have seen and I don’t think that score of our last encounter was indicative of their quality. It has been two years since that meeting and I am sure that facing them tomorrow will be a whole different challenge,” he said.

(Read | FIFA U-17 World Cup: USA hope to maintain heavyweight tag)



“We are coming to the game with the lot of respect for the hosts. It is important to remember that this is the first group stage match of the tournament and in front of their home crowd, it will be foolish to take them lightly,” he added.

The USA squad trained in Dubai before arriving in New Delhi in order to get accustomed to the climate. The team spent almost two weeks in the Middle East and star striker Josh Sargent believes the training sessions have helped them in adapting quickly to the Indian weather.

“The weather condition of this country is close to that in Florida where we have our residency. Plus, the training sessions in Dubai have helped us in adapting to the warm climate,” Sargent said.