2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup Draw: See How African Teams Are Placed in the Groups
The draws for the 2017
FIFA U-20 World Cup was held on Wednesday morning by the Federation
of International Football Association and the four African representatives;
Zambia, Senegal, South Africa and Guinea have been pitted against opponents in
groups that can best be described as unpredictable
The
tournament will hold in South Korea from May 20 to June 11, 2017, .
Guinea
and hosts South Korea will kick off the World Cup with the opening game
on May 20.
Zambia
became African U-20 champions after lifting the Africa U-20 Nations Cup last
weekend and was joined by Senegal (runners up), South Africa and Guinea.
Guinea
have the unenviable draw of also facing Argentina in Group A. Argentina
defeated Nigeria 2-1 to lift the title in 2005 in the Netherlands.
Zambia
will play in Group C against Portugal that defeated Nigeria at the same
tournament in 1989 when Saudi Arabia hosted the world.
Saudi
Arabia themselves will come up against Senegal in Group F of the U-20 World Cup
this year in South Korea.
The
pairings were drawn by some famous personalities including two FIFA Legends,
Diego Maradona, who won the 1979 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and Pablo Aimar, who won
the 1997 edition.
Argentina
football legend Diego Maradona expressed his thoughts on the outcome of the
draw as it concerns his country.
“What
a draw for Argentina! “We have some tough games, including a match against the
hosts! What an exciting match that will be here in Korea, especially in front
of a big local crowd,” Diego Maradona said after the draw.
Nigeria's
Flying Eagles missed out of a place in the CAF U-20 Nations Cup to Sudan on
away goals after a 5-5 aggregate.
The U-20 World Cup Groups
- Group A: Korea Republic, Guinea, Argentina, England
- Group B: Venezuela, Germany, Vanuatu, Mexico
- Group C: Zambia, Portugal, Iran, Costa Rica
- Group D: South Africa, Japan, Italy, Uruguay
- Group E: France, Honduras, Vietnam, New Zealand
- Group F: Ecuador, USA, Saudi Arabia, Senegal
A
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