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FIFA U17 World Cup: The future superstars India will face in the Group stage

July 10 2017
XtraTime

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Internet Desk: India might have avoided some of the big nations of world football in the forthcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup, but they will still face some tricky tricky oppositions nonetheless. India is clubbed with Colombiam Ghana and The USA in Group A. Here goes the three superstars India has to deal with in the group stage.

Eric Ayiah (Ghana)

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Probably one of the possible stars of the FIFA U17 World Cup in India. Ghana U17 prodigy Eric Ayiah has reportedly signed contract with Portuguese giants FC Porto and will join club after U17 World Cup in October. The Ghana captain who led the Starlets to the a silver medal winning feat at the just ended U17 AFCON in Gabon was under the watch of many top European clubs according to reports.

But the management team of the enterprising and promising star in collaboration with his parents finally settled on joining the 2004 UEFA Champions League winners. The Charity Stars FC forward bagged 4 goals as joint top scorer of the 2017 AFCON alongside of Djibril Toure of Guinea.

Jaminton Campaz (Colombia)

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A highly talented footballer who plays as forward for Deportes Tolima in Categoría Primera A. He has already scored 3 goals and made 7 assists for his nation.

Colombia secured their World Cup berth by virtue of their third-placed finish at this year’s South American U-17 Championship. Two wins, one draw and one defeat saw them take second place in Group A behind Chile and move comfortably into the hexagonal final phase. Things were more complicated there, though, with an opening victory over Ecuador (2-1) followed by a draw with Venezuela and losses to Chile (1-0) and Brazil (3-0). With World Cup qualification on the line, they then bounced back with a 2-1 win over Paraguay to seal their passage. Jamintan played an instrumental role in every game.

Ayo Akinola (The USA)

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The goal machine in U17 World football. Among all the players Akinola has the best scoring rate. He has already scored 24 goals in 25 appearances for The USA U17 football team and is raring to prove himself in the FIFA U17 World Cup.

He made his debut for the United States Under-15 side on April 25, 2015, in a 4–1 victory over Costa Rica. The following day he scored his first international goal, netting four goals and an assist in a 6–2 win against Croatia. He also scored in his final appearance for the Under-15s, in a 3–3 draw in England.
On December 2, 2015, he made his debut for the Under-17 national team, playing 40 minutes in a 3–2 defeat to England Under-16s. He first goal came against Brazil on March 22, 2016, before netting a brace against Russia on March 26, 2016.