Messi or Ronaldo - Indian team players for FIFA U-17 World Cup take their pick

The FIFA U-17 World Cup is just a month away and preparations are in full swing ahead of the big kick-off on 6th October. 24 teams will be in the reckoning for the title and India will also be part of the battle for the cup, for the first time in history.

While the final squad selection for the U-17 World Cup is still a few days away, it is expected that none of the 24 teams will make big changes to their current crop, as is the case with India.

Luis Norton de Matos, the head coach of the India Colts, has overseen his young charges grow into his methods ever since he was appointed in March this year but will have the tough task of omitting a few players from his current group once the final squad is confirmed. That said, those who will miss out can rest assured that their contribution to the history-making moment for Indian football will count for much more than just a place in the squad.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) social media handles have been regularly updating us with latest news and player profiles of the U-17 World Cup, and out of the 25 players who have been profiled so far, quite a few of them have grown up wanting to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo or the next Lionel Messi.

While Messi admirers were very few among the Indian contingent, there was no lack of Colts who idolise Ronaldo. Among the 25 players, six count Ronaldo as their idol, while only Lalengmawia is a fan of Messi. Abhijit Sarkar, Khumanthem Ninthoinganba, Rahim Ali, Boris Singh Thangjam, Mohammad Shahjahan and Shubham Sarangi consider the Real Madrid superstar as their idol.

It is clear that Ronaldo, being the machine he is, has had a big influence on the next batch of Indian football stars. The likes of Sarkar and Sarangi are key members of the India setup, and they will be keen to produce Ronaldo-esque performances for their country at the U-17 World Cup.

Whether they can help India win the World Cup like Ronaldo did with Portugal at Euro 2016 remains to be seen, but they certainly have seen how the best modern day footballer works and have had valuable lessons watching him from a distance.

Other international players that our Indian U-17 stars idolize include Andres Iniesta, Manuel Neuer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Arturo Vidal, Petr Cech, Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho, Gianluigi Buffon, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Neymar, Toni Kroos, Sergio Busquets and the great Diego Maradona. Our U-17 players have picked some big names, let's hope they shine like them on the big stage as well.