FIFA U-17 World Cup: Humble debutants Niger are dreaming of yet another upset

THE FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP, to most Indian football fans, signifies a historic moment as this marks the debut of India in a global footballing championship of any age group. The young shoulders of the players are carrying the expectations of all the fans in the country who are counting on them to make a good first impression for Indian football come October.

But India are not the only humble debutant coming into the tournament with big dreams. Niger, a landlocked country from Africa, are also making their first appearance in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

The country has a plethora of socio-economic problems to overcome. Ranked one of the lowest in the world in terms of Human Development, Niger's participation in international football hasn't been a smooth affair either.

Their first two attempts to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifiers ended badly. They first fielded an U-17 team in 2003 and ended up withdrawing it for various reasons. Their next attempt came in 2009, the same year when FIFA implemented MRI scans for players to verify their age. Some Niger players were found to be over the age limit and they were disqualified.

Since then, for Niger it has been a repeated case of trying and failing. They did not fare much better in the African Cup of Nations U-17 either, but a couple of years ago the wheels began to turn.

Niger showed signs of improvement when they finally made their first appearance in the continental U-17 championship. They did not make it past the group stage but managed to get one win. In 2017, though, they had improved remarkably. 

Their campaign started on a low key with a draw vs Angola and a loss to Mali. But in the third group stage match, they turned things around with a win over Tanzania.

With 4 points, Niger finished second in the group. And they faced Ghana in the semi-finals. The match was goalless and after 7 shots in tiebreakers, Ghana beat them 6-5. Niger ended up losing the third place match to Guinea 1-3.

While their path to qualification wasn't exactly a victory march, Niger are here on merit. They are not going to have an easy time in the World Cup, having Brazil and Spain in their group. But they can definitely hope to beat North Korea, and then go for an upset draw against one of the big teams in the group and if they manage to achieve that, it will get them into the knockout stage, which will potentially be one of the biggest upsets in the tournament.

Niger U-17's recent matches show the signs of a tight knit squad that tries to play as a unit, without any extravagance. Attackers like Marou and Sanda have been regularly scoring, and the likes of Ajina, Magagi and Habibou provide stability to the midfield and defence. It's not an extraordinary side at first look. But it's one that's capable of causing upsets. 

Niger rode a series of upsets into the FIFA U-17 World Cup. And it's an upset that they will be chasing when they take to the field at the big stage come October.

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