FIFA U-17 World Cup:
Iran given Brazil, England tasks in group stage
Iran will be facing a mammoth task in the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year when taking on two age-group heavyweights in the group stage.
The draw for the event – starting November 10 in Indonesia – took place in the FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday, where Iran was drawn against Brazil and England, as well as Oceanian side New Caledonia in Group C.
Hossein Abdi’s boys will begin their campaign against Brazil at the Jakarta International Stadium on Nov. 11, before squaring off against England three days later.
The final round of the group fixtures will see Iran play New Caledonia on November 17.
Brazil will head to Indonesia on the back of a 13th South American crown in April, looking for a record-equaling fifth world trophy, and second in a row after defeating Mexico in the 2019 final.
England, the under-17 World Cup champion in 2017, had a below-par run in May’s European Championship – beaten by France in the quarterfinals – but still managed to bounce back with a 4-2 victory over the Switzerland to secure the continent’s fifth berth for the competition.
New Caledonia, meanwhile, made it to the final showpiece of the OFC U-17 Championship last January, before a 1-0 loss to New Zealand.
“We are in probably the toughest group at the World Cup,” Iran head coach Abdi said after the draw, adding: “Brazil is the second most decorated team in the history of the competition, while England is also a top-quality side, but I don’t have much information about New Caledonia.”
Iran is one of the four Asian sides – alongside Japan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan – to join host Indonesia in November’s tournament, after reaching the last four of June’s U17 Asian Cup in Thailand.
“We’re still thrilled to be in this group as a top side of the continent as we only suffered a single defeat against Japan, which was among the top-seeded teams in the World Cup draw, in the Asian Cup. We’ll be looking to show our prowess against Brazil and England,” added the Iranian coach.
Iran will hope to build on the previous World Cup participation in 2017, where a brave run saw the Asian team beat Germany, Guinea, and Costa Rica to win the group and then come out victorious against Mexico in the knockout stage before falling to Spain in the quarterfinals.