![FIFA U-17 World Cup: India loses to the US. [Image Credit: AniketMishra/Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/10/5/660x290/b_502x220x82/fifa-u-17-world-cup-starts-with-a-win-for-the-us-image-via-aniketmishrawikimedia-commons_1615899.jpg "FIFA U-17 World Cup: India loses to the US. [Image Credit: AniketMishra/Wikimedia Commons]")
This FIFA World Cup is the first FIFA elite tournament which is being hosted in India. India had never hosted any FIFA elite tournament before FIFA U-17 World Cup. It was a moment to proud of for India as they heard their national anthem first time in a FIFA elite tournament.
As India made their first-ever appearance in FIFA World Cup, the teams like New Caledonia and Niger also made their FIFA World Cup debut. The tournament is being played at six different stadiums in India.
India and the US are in the ‘group A’ with Ghana and Columbia. India hosted the US in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
It was a historic match for India as they were about to play their first game in FIFA World Cup.
First-half of the game
The game started with the USA kicking off the ball from the center of the field. The American players began with a possessive match. India seems like they’re playing just to defend the ball. The US attack tried to find leakages in the Indian defense. It took them half an hour time to break the Indian defensive line.
On the 29th minute, the Indian Left-back player tried to break a counterattack by the US, but it went horribly wrong as he conceded a penalty by a physical challenge. The opposition’s striker, Joshua Sargent didn’t miss the opportunity to score. He scored the goal from the penalty spot to give the US a 1-0 lead.
The US played remaining first-half finding another goal. We can say, it was a poor attacking display by the Indian side. They struggled to complete passes and ended up numerous times in giving away the ball to opponents. Most of the first-half they played within their own half of the field defending the US attack. Indian coach himself looked frustrated by the Indian performance.
Final-half of the game
The second half started with the Indian striker kicking off the ball. Underdog Indian side came out in the second-half to find an equalizer. They attacked well in the starting periods but couldn’t find the back of the net. The US players again started to play a possessive game to retain their one-goal lead over hosting side.
This half, both teams displayed some great attacks, but neither side could score.
India attack backfired on the 51st minute when the US came with a counter-attack and ended up in taking a corner. The corner wasn’t good enough, but on second attempt Christopher Durkin fired the ball from the 18-yard box and ball went to the back of the net through a deflection by an Indian defender. The US was up with two goals lead after this goal against the hosting side.
The Indian side tried to attack and take at least something, but couldn’t find a way through the US defense. Every attack by the Indian players went in vain as they were not able to find their players to complete the attacking passes. It so much looked like Indian side struggled to play an organized and calm game in attack.
The game was heading towards the end, but an attack by the US successfully completed when Andrew Carleton scored the third goal in the 84th minute. The game ended with a 0-3 win for the US. The Indian side at least tried well in a high-pressure match as this was their first FIFA World Cup game.It wasn’t a disappointing night at all for India. They still have more matches to play in the group and can prove themselves a dark horse.
On the other hand, the US performed excellently well in their first game of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup match. They looked pretty sharp side and can break out of the group by playing consistently.
