Kolkata: Kolkata one of the 6 cities of India to host the matches of the u-17 World Cup saw the teams that were drawn in group F to visit the city and inspect the ground by the respective team officials and the head coaches. The city of Joy will host games of group F which will comprises of Iraq, Mexico, Chile and England.
The Yuva Bharati Stadium of Kolkata will host 5 group matches, one pre-quarter, two quarter finals, third placed match and the all important final, accounting to 10 total matches which will be played in this venue.
Chile’s head coach Hernan Caputto said he is very happy to be in Kolkata and the people have been very nice to him.
“The stadium is beautiful, the 4 teams in the group are great teams and my boys will try to give their 100% in all their games. The best 4 teams of the Latin American continent have qualified, we are not Argentina, we are Chile” said Caputto.
He also added that he plans to arrive with his team on October 1.
Echeverria Perez the head coach of Mexico is really grateful about the attention and the reception which he has received from the city.
“We have been in other World Cups but the work that has been done here has been great. The pitches and the stadium have been top class. With the new format which FIFA made for positioning the teams, every group is going to be tough. It is a serious competition and we are not going to take any opponent lightly. Mexico has been preparing for the youth development for the past 6-7 years and hopefully we will play the finals. We are planning to come to the city on October 3 or 4” said Perez.
England head coach Steve Cooper has been heavily impressed by the condition of the stadium and the city.
“We have no complaints and the first impression has been great. The city has huge enthusiasm for football and for the England team. If we have to look into all the groups, then we can see that there are no easy groups as all the teams are equally strong. England u20 team winning the Euros has been a motivation and inspiration for the young lads. We are planning to visit earlier than the FIFA schedule. The different climate, cultures are not a challenge rather a positive experience for the boys” said Cooper.