ROYAL RUMBLE IN NEW ZEALAND

The world will the held to hostage, baton finally passed to the lads, they have seized atmosphere, and the cold region has been turned to a battle ground. From the Far East Beijing, sailing across the Atlantic to the Western Dakar, and up North London and down South Pretoria, all attention will be gazed nowhere but seven of the most sizzling cities in New Zealand. The city of Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Whangarei will churn in thousands of Tourists , it’s the 20^th Edition of the Fifa World Youth Championship, and we cant expect anything less than a month of non-stop entertainment. Here, our Sport Analyst looks at the Pretenders and the Contenders of the World’s Most Recognized Youth Tourney on the surface of the Earth.

THE CONTENDERS

ARGENTINA

Arguably the most successful team at this level, The Blue and White Stripe have been a revelation to watch, having registered  consistent performances at all FIFA Tourney, including the Women Championship, the Argentines are never always pushovers. The Young Albicelestes have won 6 Trophies, and were once second place finishers and fourth place finishers at this level. The Argentines have also been capable of producing young players who went on to capture the global stage. The likes of Diego Armando Maradona, Lionel Messi, Kun Aguero have all been tested at this stage before becoming fearful players on the planet. Placed in a very easy group of Panama, Austria and Ghana, the only scare for the Northern American are the Satellites of Ghana  whom they have met twice at this level and have shared spoils on both occasions. A progression from this group as group leader will definitely place them on the course for a 7^th title.

BRAZIL

 

Featured in the final for a record 8times, the Young Selecao have been champions 5times at this level, and have grabbed 3silvers and 3bronzes to stand as the most decorated team at this tourney with a haul of 11medals. Though, the team have gone through hard times lately, with the Southern American failing to qualify for the last edition, and managed to qualify for this tourney as a best loser in the South American Region, faced with the recent sack of their manager, Alexander Gallo, Brazil may face a lot of uphills, but they have always proved to be strong in time of deep crisis The Yellow and Blue team will have  a tough test with the Flying Eagles of Nigeria to kick start a journey towards winning her 6^th title. Having met the Nigerians four times, winning thrice and drawing once with a goal tally of 9-0 in favor of Brazil, the American must be aware of the danger up their sleeves as they are set to face the most consistent and prolific team to feature in this tournament. A wrong foot in first hurdle may prove herculean especially when they face North Korea and Hungary. At this stage, Brazil can boast of producing stars like Neymar, Ronaldihno and Robinho.

PORTUGAL

The Portuguese have made bold statements at this stage, winning twice with a solitary silver and bronze. The Creoles are the third most successful team at this tournament and capable of holding their own against any team. The Portuguese were proud winner of the Toulon tournament in 2013, though couldn’t replicate such success at the 2013 World Youth Tournament, the Europeans have made history with Argentina and Brazil as the only teams to have won the trophy back to back. Pitched in what has been dubbed as a terrible group with Senegale, Colombia and Qatar, what will remain of Portugal will be seen in the nearest weeks. No doubt Colombia will prove a worthy test for the Creoles, but a maiden appearance of Senegale may see the Portuguese making a likely stroll in the pack.

 

GHANA

 

The only African Team to have handled the FIFA U-20 Trophy, Ghana will be hoping to add to her laurel in the next few weeks. The Black Satellites are the fourth most successful team at this tournament, having won a solitary Gold, two silvers, a bronze and a fourth place finish. Ghana were placed third at the recent African Youth Tournament having only fell to Nigeria 0-2 at the semi-final. The Yaw Yeboah led team will hope to replicate the success of the Ghanian Class of 2009 which feature the likes of Dominic Adiyiah who won the 2009 FIFA Golden Shoe, and Ebenezer Assifuah who won the 2013 FIFA Golden Shoes. Placed in a somewhat easy group , Ghana has been tipped alongside Argentina to make it out of the group, and a journey pass the group stage may see Ghana on course for her second world title.

THE PRETENDERS

NIGERIA

The Nigerian Flying Eagles are another revelation to behold, having ruled the African Continent for a record seven times, they have yet to replicate such success at the World Level. Twice they have been to the final, twice they have fallen to Portugal and Argentina respectively. This has however not robbed the team off magical moments at this stage. A dramatic comeback tagged “Damman Miracle” of 1989 against Soviet Union, having gone down 4-0 at half time but came back to draw level within 15minutes and subsequently going ahead to win the encounter via shoot-out has been an important highlight of this tourney. The Flying Eagles have been tipped to cause major upset at this tournament, having retained almost 90% of her victorious team to UAE U-17 World Youth Championship. The team have been consistent and have crushed all opponents that came their way, ironically, the only opponent they have failed to crush despite meeting them thrice on different occasion, The Young Elephants of Coted’iviore failed to qualify for this championship. Drawn in a group that comprises of Brazil, Hungary and Korea DPR, the game between Brazil will be a perfect lightening to raise curtain for the group. A scale out of this group may see Nigeria placing herself among the league of champions.

MEXICO

We see in New Zealand was what came out of the Mexican after falling to Nigeria at the final of the U-17 World Cup, a dream they have followed passionately afterward. Qualifying for this tournament was smooth for the Green and White lads. They have also had their share of the medal spoils, with one silver and one bronze, Mexico like Nigeria may turn out to be tournament spoilers having retained almost all the players that featured at the UAE U-17 Tourney two years ago.

COLOMBIA

The Southern American may not have done too well in this tournament with a solitary bronze, but the crop of players the team parades may shock the world. Having already shocked South America by winning the Junior Copa America, Colombia will be daring to add a second within a year. Grouped alongside Portugal and Senegale, Colombia should take solace in the fact that they are facing new boys Senegalese, and a not too impressive Qatar side for a likely second place finish.  A top of the table finish for Colombia will set a nice tonic for the team to aim for the trophy.

MALI

The Eaglet of Mali may not be seen as a title contender, they may likely be the spoiler. With rich experience in this tournament, Mali like Colombia has a solitary bronze medal to be proud of. Grouped in a terrible American table of Uruguay and Mexico, facing Serbia may not fair either for the Africans, but rich history at this tournament meant a huge threat to all her group opponents. A group survival for Mali may see them going a step or two further than their best ever world cup finish.