FIFA U17 World Cup 2017: Five major teams who failed to qualify

Modified Sep 24, 2017 14:26 IST

FIFA U17 World cup — The FIFA U17 World Cup is set to be hosted by India this yearThe FIFA Under-17 World Cup will be the biggest football event organized by the country. Hopefully, the country will take the sport more seriously because it has always played a second fiddle to cricket. FIFA and the Indian Central/State Government are leaving no stone unturned in the preparations for the mega event.

#3 Australia

Joeys v Brazil — The Australians have been regular entrants in the Under-17 World Cup

One of the most consistent teams in the history of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the “Socceroos” earned the ticket to the event as many as 12 out of 16 occasions, which is second only to Brazil and USA who had the privilege to be present in 15 out of a possible 16.

The Australians missed the silverware by a whisker in 1999 following which they never made it to the last eight stage of the competition. The Aussies paid a visit to India last year for the AFC U-16 Championships but lost every match which tampered their qualification hopes.

The men in yellow have been the leading football nation under the Asian Football Federation (AFC), apart from Iran.Having won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, they will defend their title two years from now in the United Arab Emirates. A couple of years ago, they were kicked out of the 2015 U-17 World Cup by virtue of a 0-6 thrashing by Nigeria who went on to lift the trophy.

Edited by Souvik Roy Chowdhury