FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Know your stars from Luis Norton's Indian football team

Mumbai: History will be created when India hosts to its first-ever FIFA tournament, the FIFA U-17 World Cup, kicks off on Wednesday. With the Blue Tigers representing the host nation, the hopes are high, and the fans will be backing the U-17 Men in Blue when they take on the USA on October 6 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

The 24-team tournament will be spread over three weeks, with the final being held at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.

Here, we look at the selected Indian squad of 21 players who will represent the country in the global football tournament.

Goalkeepers:

Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem

17-year-old Dheeraj has always been a top priority goalkeeper for the Indian under-17 side. With 42 international caps, Dheeraj’s experience in the youth team could prove to be crucial in the hosts’ side.

Sunny Dhaliwal

At a height of 6’4, Dhaliwal is one of the tallest players in the upcoming edition of the tournament.

Prabshukhan Gill

A student of the Chandigarh Football Academy in Punjab, he could be yet another contender to feature in the playing XI at least once in the group stages.

Defenders:

Sanjeev Stalin

Having represented India in last year’s AFC U-16 championship last year, the full-back could prove to be crucial in the hosts’ defensive set-up.

Boris Singh

Just like his teammate Stalin, Boris was also an integral part of India’s Under 16 side during the AFC U-16 side last year. However, he will miss India’s opener against the USA on Friday with a suspension, but when he returns to action, that will be an extra boost for the Indian side.

Jitendra Singh

Usually playing his part in the central defense, he could be the preferred defender to partner up with Anwar Ali in India’s defense.

Anwar Ali

A player from the Minerva Academy, Anwar was one of the fortunate players to have represented India’s U-17 side during their 1-0 loss to Minerva Punjab FC in a friendly game. However, he will look to turn things around when his team gets ready to face tough challenges in the U-17 World Cup.

Hendry Antonay

A native of Karnataka, Antonay has experience in both club level and junior national level, having represented Ozone FC, Pune FC and the India U-14 sides in the past. These experiences could help him become a contender during the upcoming global tournament.

Namit Deshpande

Having moved to the USA from India in 2006, Namit became the first NRI in the Indian team, and could also become the same if he takes the field on Friday.

Midfielders:

Komal Thatal

Having scored against Brazil in the BRICS Cup last year, Komal was an integral player during the match, despite the team going down 1-3 in that match. He will hope for a change of fortunes in the tournament, and would hope to take the team beyond the group stage.

Suresh Singh

Suresh Singh is coming to the World Cup with an experience of captaining the Under 16 side in the AFC Championship in Goa last year. With these experiences backing him, he could lead his side to crucial wins in the upcoming tournament.

Amarjit Singh Kiyam

Come Friday, Amarjit Singh will become India’s first captain to lead the national team in a FIFA tournament for the first time.

Meetei Khumanthem Ninthoinganba

When the 16-year-old sets foot on the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Friday, he will be playing just for one person: His father. Having lost his father at a very small age, his childhood has been difficult, and will hope to make his father proud when he represents India.

Lalengmawia

Having started his football career at his school in the U-14 Subroto Cup, Lalengmawaia will hope to take his team to glory in the upcoming edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Jeakson Singh

Having scored a free-kick during the U-15 I-League tournament, he was not immediately selected by the Indian team, and slowly took time to impress the coach. However, a good performance for Minerva Punjab against India U-17 earlier this year, earned him a spot in the 21-player squad.

Abhijit Sarkar

Abhijit Sarkar will don the No.10 jersey, and will be an integral part of Team India’s set up, just like coach Norton de Matos had commented.

Kannoly Praveen

Hailing from Kerala, a state where football is keenly followed, Kannoly Praveen will hope to follow his fellow Keralite IM Vijayan, who was at his peak during his playing days.

Nongdamba Naorem

Having scored for the Indian youth side over Chile recently, the Manipur footballer will hope to get more goals on the net in the upcoming FIFA tournament.

Mohammed Shahjahan

A member of Minerva Punjab FC, which defeated India U-17 earlier this year, Shahjahan will hope to have a memorable run in the World Cup.

Rahim Ali

Having joined Mohun Bagan in 2013, he did not get many opportunities with the club, having had to play with the reserves team. However, his hard work paid off as he was selected in the 21-player squad list for the multi-nation tournament.

Aniket Jadhav

Aniket was one of the 10 players to be picked up to represent India at the FC Bayern Munich Youth Cup in 2014, and did not waste any time in impressing as he has just improved from then on.