Dear Colleagues,
Please find below the reports from FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017. ---------------------- *THE YOUNG BOYS NEED TO BE CHALLENGED MORE, SAYS USA COACH HACKWORTH* *By Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay,AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI:* The USA U-17 Head coach John Hackworth feels the transition to the Senior Team from the U-17 team requires nothing less than “tremendous hard work and dedication”. “The first thing these boys say is that they want to turn Professional. But frankly saying, they have the least idea about it. It’s a continual process and it requires tremendous hard work and dedication to match the level”, Hackworth said at the pre-match press conference before his team lock their horns with Group B winners Paraguay at the JLN Stadium tomorrow (October 16, 2017). He went on to say that ‘they have to learn more to make it to the optimum level finally.’ “See, the young fellas need to be challenged more often. Someone like Sargent is already playing in the German league and he’s ready. But some boys need to go through the gradual age-group teams to come up the ranks.” “If you see the percentage of making into the Senior World Cup from the U-17 World Cup, you’ll find it very minimal. They have to learn a lot and it’s the learning phase for them.” Josh Sargent has signed a contract with Bundesliga Powerhouse Werder Bremen recently. Meanwhile, Josh Sargent, Timothy Weah and other vital cogs have already signed contracts with European superpowers akin to Werder Bremen, PSG etc overlooking the Major Soccer League. Coach Hackworth referred it as an ‘individual choice’. “6 of these boys have signed professional contracts with MLS clubs but yes, Sargent, Weah have opted to go to the Europe. At the end of the day, it’s their individual choices and I respect that. They have to learn the minutes of the game and that’s what matters actually.” Since 1986, the USA have been regular in the Senior World Cup but they’re going to give it a miss in Russia 2018. Hackworth referred it as a ‘void moment for the country.’ “It had an impact on our team but we’ve put together afterwards. The Federation, the fans, the entire nation is very disappointed but it might be a good wake-up call for us. We have to learn from here and we’ll surely”, the 47-year old coach stated. The match is slated to kick-off at 8 PM. ---------------------- *CONFEDERATIONS CUP VICTORY IS A BIG MOTIVATION FOR US, SAYS GERMANY COACH CHRISTIAN WUCK* *By Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay,AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI:* Germany U-17 National Coach Christian Wuck stated that Germany’s Confederations Cup triumph is acting as a “great motivation” for his present U-17 squad. Speaking at the pre-match press conference a day prior to the Round of 16 opener against Colombia, he admitted: "Surely it’s a great motivation. The boys who won it are 3 to 4 years older than my boys. Our boys are also getting in the groove slowly and looking up to them to reach the next level.” Wuck maintained that their primary aim is to “develop the players for the senior team.” Referring to a question as to why Germany despite winning won the World Cup four times are yet to win the U-17 World Cup title, he added: "Our primary focus is to maintain the supply line to the Senior Team. Obviously, we need to win titles but we have to develop the players for the senior team.” “It's important for players to play in such a massive tournament to gauge themselves and get ready for the next level. It'll be good for the fans if we win and we'll try our best to make it happen.” However, Wuck also mentioned some of the players like skipper Arp are already thriving to attain the next level. "Some of my boys are already playing in Bundesliga and they're ready for the bigger challenge. I think, maybe the European players in this age group are a bit slower compared to African and Asian players and that's why we get edged out.” The match is scheduled to kick-off at 5 PM. ---------------------- For all other updates and all news and exclusive pictures please follow our Official Twitter Handle *https://twitter.com/IndianFootball <https://twitter.com/IndianFootball>* Also, please follow and like the Official Page of Indian Football on Facebook *https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam <https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam>* Also, please follow and like the Official Account of Indian Football on Instagram *https://www.instagram.com/IndianFootball* <https://www.instagram.com/IndianFootball> Media Department, AIFF. Alternate: [email protected] Website: www.the-aiff.com
