India will play Brazil in a Fifa World Cup. Not in the world football governing body’s flagship event but in its under-17 tournament for women.
Hosts India have been clubbed alongside the football powerhouse, Morocco and the US in a tough group for the upcoming under-17 Fifa Women’s World Cup, the draw for which took place in Zurich on Friday.
The country is slated to host the tournament from October 11 to 30 across three venues — Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium, Goa’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.
India, being the host nation, are an automatic selection and is placed in Group A. A total of 16 teams across four groups will be participating in the tournament.
India will begin their campaign against the US on October 11 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Their second match will be against Morocco on October 14 at the same venue. The home team’s last group stage match against Brazil will be on October 17.
India were scheduled to host the 2020 edition of the World Cup but the tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Defending champions Spain, who beat Mexico in the final of the 2018 edition, are placed in Group C along with Colombia, China, and Mexico.
Group B consists of Germany, Nigeria, Chile and New Zealand. Japan, Tanzania, Canada and France constitute Group D.
“Today’s draw not only marks an important milestone for India as a host nation but also for the global football community.
“That this draw and the subsequently tournament is able to take place safely is a testament to the hard work of those involved,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said during the draw.
“We now look forward to watching the finest young players representing 16 nations from around the world in India later this year. As a direct result of this tournament, a new generation of women inspired to follow in the footsteps of those they see playing in October will be created,” he added.
North Korea are the most successful team in the history of the tournament, having won the trophy in 2008 and 2016, while Japan, South Korea, and France have each won the title once.
The semi-finals will be held in Goa while the final will be played in Navi Mumbai.
Host Mollie Kmita presented the official draw and was joined by former US women’s national team player and Fifa women’s World Cup winner, Heather O’Reilly, former coach of the New Zealand national team, Ricki Herbert, as well as Jaime Yarza, Fifa’s director of tournaments, and Sarai Bareman, Fifa chief women’s football officer.
This is the second time India is hosting a Fifa tournament after the under-17 men’s World Cup in 2017.
