FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 Matchday 6 Preview

The plot thickens in Groups E and F as the second round of matches could make or break the firtunes of the teams.

As the FIFA U-17 World Cup group stages progress, Wednesday will witness the secondround of matches in Groups E and Group F played in the cities of Guwahati and Kolkata respectively. The second matches of these two groups will virtually determine the teams progressing to the knockout stages of the tournament later this month. In Group E, European giants France will meet dark horses Japan, which will be followed by Honduras meeting New Caledonia in Guwahati. Kolkata will see England plying their trade against Mexico as well as Iraq facing off with Chile later on Wednesday evening.

Match 1: France U-17 vs Japan U-17

The first match of the sixth matchday will see European giants France face Asian powerhouse Japan. The French youth side is full of some of the brightest and most exciting prospects in world football. However, the Japanese have all the right materials to give their opponents a run for their money.

France thrashed New Caledonia in the opening match of Group E on Sunday and will be looking forward to adding another win to ensure a safe and early passage to the knockout stages. On the other hand, Japan also defeated Honduras by a huge 6-1 margin, which puts them as the perfect opponents for the Les Bleus on Wednesday in Guwahati.

Team News

The France side is expected to have a few changes against Japan, who will be arguably the toughest competitors to the French in the group stages. Lionel Rouxel, the France manager is known for his astute rotation tactics and is expected to start his strongest squad against Japan. The Les Tricolores will also be looking towards an early goal against Japan which would help them seal a quick victory against their Asian opponents. Despite some changes in their starting lineup, France will be depending on Amine Gouiri and Yacine Adli among others to get the goals and on Maxence Caqueret to win the midfield duels to break down the opposition play.

Their opponents, Japan are also expected to make a change or two to their team, preferably in the defence against France. Although, they conceded only a single goal against Honduras, Japan head coach Yoshiro Moriyama knows about the deadly French attack of late and will be setting up a strong defensive and counter-attacking unit against the Europeans. The Blue Samurais will be depending heavily on Takefusa Kuba and Keito Nakamura to find the back of the net and on Kozuki Soichiro to be at his absolute best to stop the French attackers.

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Head to Head

Wednesday will mark the first time these two teams meet each other.

Man to Watch

Amine Gouiri-France U-17: A technically gifted striker, Gouiri is one of the many exciting prospects visiting India in the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup. Gouiri possesses incredible pace and finishing skills which has seen him touted as the 'next big thing' in French football. Lethal in attack, Gouiri scored eight goals in the UEFA Euro U-17 Championship, being the top scorer of his side. An Olympique Lyonnais academy product, Gouiri is expected to make it big in this ongoing World Cup.

Takefusa Kuba -Japan U-17: The star player of his side, Kuba signed for Catalan giants FC Barcelona when he was only 10 years old. However, after spending three years with the Catalans, he returned to his country to play for FC Tokyo in the J-League. Touted as the ‘Japanese Messi’, Kuba has already featured for the FC Tokyo U-23 squad and was also a part of the Japanese U-20 World Cup squad earlier this year.

Probable Lineups

France U-17: Brahia Bernard (GK), Vincent Collet, Melvin Bard, Batista Mendy, Oumar Solet, Yacine Adli, Maxence Caqueret, Claudio Gomes, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Willem Geubbels, Amine Gouiri.

Japan U-17: Kosei Tani (GK), Yukinari Sugawara, Yuki Kobayashi, Seiya Baba, Taichi Yamasaki, Shimpei Fukuoka, Rei Hirakawa, Takefusa Kubo, Soichiro Kozuki, Keito Nakamura, Taisei Miyasiro.

Broadcast

The match will be telecast live on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD at 17:00 hours IST.

Other Matches

Match 2: England U-17 vs Mexico U-17

Kickoff

11th October, 17:00 IST.

VYBK Stadium, Kolkata.

Broadcast

The match will be telecast live on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD at 17:00 hours IST.

Match 3: Iraq U-17 vs Chile U-17

Kickoff

11th October, 20:00 IST.

VYBK Stadium, Kolkata.

Broadcast

The match will be telecast live on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD at 20:00 hours IST.

Match 4: Honduras U-17 vs New Caledonia U-17

Kickoff

11th October, 20:00 IST.

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Guwahati.

Broadcast

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The match will be telecast live on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD at 20:00 hours IST.