2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup: Team Previews – Group E
Oct 4, 2017 at 12:56 PM
Honduras
Confederation – CONCACAF (Central, North America and Caribbean)
FIFA Code – HON
Nickname(s) – La Mini H – Sub 17
- Tournament History
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup is the fifth appearances for Honduras in this youth tournament. Their best result in this tournament was in 2013 where they had reached the quarter-final.
Year | Hosts | Final Status |
2007 | South Korea | Group Stage |
2009 | Nigeria | Group Stage |
2013 | UAE | Quarter-Finals |
2015 | Chile | Group Stage |
(Note: The best performance(s) is/are marked in bold and italic)
- Present Status (for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup)
i) The Journey: Honduras secured their place for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup after finishing in the third position in the classification stage (second in Group F) of 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.
ii) Head Coach: Jose Valladares (Nationality – Honduras) is in charge of Honduras U-17 since 2011. Under his coaching, Honduras had played the two previous U-17 World Cup (2013 and 2015) before the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Under his coaching, Honduras had reached the quarter-finals during 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is also their best performance in this tournament history till the date.
Jose Valladares’ preferred formation is 4-2-3-1.
iii) Full Squad: (Goalkeepers) Alex Rivera, Jordy Castro, Carlos Banegas
(Defenders) Santiago Cabrera, Axel Gomez, Alexander Bahr, Cristian Moreira, Gustavo Vallecillo, Emilio Campos
(Midfielders) Luis Palma, Gerson Chavez, Alessandro Castro, Carlos Mejia, David Cardona, Everson Lopez, Joshua Canales
(Forwards) Jorge Flores, Patrick Palacios, Kenneth Martinez, Asaf Cacho, Reynaldo Bodden
iv) Player(s) To Watch Out:
Carlos Mejia (Present Club – CD Vida)
Carlos Mejia is a dangerous attacking midfielder who had won the Golden Boot award (tournament award for scoring most goals) in 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship after scoring seven goals in that tournament.
- Matches In Group Stages
8th October – Honduras vs Japan (Guwahati; 20:00 local)
11th October – Honduras vs New Caledonia (Guwahati; 20:00 local)
14th October – France vs Honduras (Guwahati; 17:00 local)
Japan
Confederation – AFC (Asia)
FIFA Code – JPN
Nickname(s) – Samurai Blue
- Tournament History
Before 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Japan had appeared seven times in this tournament history where their best performance was in 1993 and 2011 as they had reached the quarter-finals in those both editions. The current U-17 FIFA World Cup is their eight appearances in this tournament history.
Year | Hosts | Final Status |
1993 | Japan | Quarter-Finals |
1995 | Ecuador | Group Stage |
2001 | Trinidad and Tobago | Group Stage |
2007 | South Korea | Group Stage |
2009 | Nigeria | Group Stage |
2011 | Mexico | Quarter-Finals |
2013 | UAE | Round of 16 |
(Note: The best performance(s) is/are marked in bold and italic)
- Present Status (for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup)
i) The Journey: Japan secured their place for the upcoming 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup after reaching the semi-finals of 2016 AFC U-16 Championship. However, in that semi-final encounter, they had suffered a loss against Iraq by a 4-2 margin.
ii) Head Coach: Yoshiro Moriyama (Nationality – Japan) is guiding this youth group since 2015. His standard formation is the 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1, and he gives the importance to the possession-base football.
iii) Full Squad: (Goalkeepers) Kosei Tani, Zion Suzuki, Togo Umeda
(Defenders) Nobuki Iketaka, Yuki Kobayashi, Yukinari Sugawara, Seiya Baba, Taichi Yamasaki, Takumu Kemmotsu
(Midfielders) Rei Hirakawa, Hinata Kida, Kohei Okuno, Shimpei Fukuoka, Soichiro Kozuki, Toichi Suzuki, Naoki Tsubaki
(Forwards) Takefusa Kubo, Hiroto Yamada, Taisei Miyashiro, Keito Nakamura, Koki Saito
iv) Player(s) To Watch Out:
Takefusa Kubo (Present Club – FC Tokyo)
Takefusa Kubo is a budding star for his nation. He is an attacking midfielder who has played every age-level international football for Japan since 2015. He was even selected for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the age of just 15. During the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship, he had scored total four goals.
After passing the trial, Takefusa Kubo was invited to join FC Barcelona’s youth Academy in 2011. Playing his first full season at there in 2012/13, he became the top goal-scorer in league with 74 goals in 30 games for Barca Alevin C (U11 team). His high success remained to continue till his leaving that Spanish club in 2015.
- Matches In Group Stages
8th October – Honduras vs Japan (Guwahati; 20:00 local)
11th October – France vs Japan (Guwahati; 17:00 local)
14th October – Japan vs New Caledonia (Kolkata; 17:00 local)
New Caledonia
Confederation – OFC (Oceania)
FIFA Code – NCL
Nickname(s) – Les Cagous (The Kagus)
- Tournament History
It is the historic moment for New Caledonia because it is their very first appearance in any FIFA competition.
- Present Status (for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup)
i) The Journey: New Caledonia secured their berth for the upcoming 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, after reaching the final of 2017 OFC U-17 Championship. However, in that final game, they had suffered a humiliating defeat against New Zealand by a 7-0 margin.
ii) Head Coach: Dominique Wacalie (Nationality – New Caledonia) is managing this youth team since April 2017. It is the very new role for him which will be very interesting to see in the upcoming U-17 World Cup.
iii) Full Squad: (Goalkeepers) Une Kecine, Gaizka Ipeze, Robin Escorne
(Defenders) Raoul Wenisso, Josue Welepane, Kiam Wanesse, Sidri Wadenges, Bernard Iwa, Hnautra Enoka, Jules Omei, Josua Hlemu
(Midfielders) Jekob Jeno, Neil Wahiobe, Pierre Bako, Cyril Nyipie, Gale Luewadia, Paul Wananjie.
(Forwards) Theo Bosshard, Titouan Richard, Vita Longue, Lionel Thahnaena
iv) Player(s) To Watch Out:
Bernard Iwa (Present Club – AS Qanono Sports)
Bernard Iwa is a talented defender who can also score goals in the crucial situation. In the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship, he had scored two goals.
- Matches In Group Stages
8th October – New Caledonia vs France (Guwahati; 17:00 local)
11th October – Honduras vs New Caledonia (Guwahati; 20:00 local)
14th October – Japan vs New Caledonia (Kolkata; 17:00 local)
France
Confederation – UEFA (Europe)
FIFA Code – FRA
Nickname(s) – Les Bleus (The Little Blues); Les Tricolores (The Tri-colours)
- Tournament History
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup is the sixth appearances for France in this youth tournament. They won this trophy once in 2001.
Also, the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup is their first consecutive appearances in the FIFA U-17 World Cup history (2015 and 2017)
Year | Hosts | Final Status |
1987 | Canada | Quarter-Finals |
2001 | Trinidad and Tobago | Champions |
2007 | South Korea | Quarter-Finals |
2011 | Mexico | Quarter-Finals |
2015 | Chile | Round of 16 |
(Note: The best performance(s) is/are marked in bold and italic)
- Present Status (for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup)
i) The Journey: France secured their place for the upcoming 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup after finishing in the fifth place in 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. In that European competition, France had lost in the quarter-final against Spain but had won the next playoff game against Hungary to secure their place for the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup.
ii) Head Coach: Lionel Rouxel (Nationality – France) has become the head coach of France youth team since 2015. Rouxel believes in attacking football with the 4-2-3-1 formation.
iii) Full Squad: (Goalkeepers) Yahia Fofana, Bryan Bernard, Illan Meslier
(Defenders) Vincent Collet, Andy Joseph, Oumar Mickael, William Ludovic Brandon, Batista Mendy, Maxence Lacroix, Melvin Bard
(Midfielders) Claudio Gomez, Aurelien Djani, Maxence Caqueret, Mathis Christophe,
(Forwards) Yacine Adli, Amine Gouiri, Willem Geubells, Alan Kerouedan, Wilson Isidor, Alexis Flips, Lenny Pintor
iv) Player(s) To Watch Out:
Amine Gouiri (Present Club – Olympique Lyon)
Amine Gouiri is a dangerous striker who had won the Golden Boot award (tournament award for scoring most goals) in 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship after scoring eight goals in that tournament (excluding one goal which had scored in the playoff game against Hungary to earn the U-17 World Cup spot).
- Matches In Group Stages
8th October – New Caledonia vs France (Guwahati; 17:00 local)
11th October – France vs Japan (Guwahati; 17:00 local)
14th October – France vs Honduras (Guwahati; 17:00 local)