(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Hosts Qatar will take on Italy on Monday as the biggest edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2025 kicks off in Doha.
This will be the first edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup where a record 48 teams will aim for title glory in the Nov 3 to 27 tournament.
Doha will host the entire tournament at two venues - the Aspire Zone football pitches and the iconic Khalifa International Stadium where the title clash will take place on November 27.
Germany, coached by Marc-Patrick Meister, will be looking to defend the title they won two years ago in Indonesia where they beat France in a penalty shoot-out.
Defending champions Germany open their account against Colombia on Tuesday. The same day football powerhouse Brazil face Honduras. Brazil are favourites to win the title for a record-equalling fifth time. Nigeria are five-time winners of the event but they did not qualify for this year's edition.
A total of eight matches have been scheduled on Monday when Argentina take on Belgium, Senegal play Croatia, South Africa battle Bolivia, Japan face Morocco, Portugal locks horns with New Caledonia and Tunisia face Fiji.
Qatar, coached by Alvaro Mejia, will play against Bolivia and South Africa in Group A. Bolivia will take on South Africa on pitch 3 on Monday.
"We're just excited. This U-17 World Cup is a massive challenge," Mejia said in the build-up to the tournament. "We are aware of Qatar's position, how strong the opposition will be, and what a huge challenge this is. We're going into it full of excitement, and our target is to get as far as we possibly can, bearing in mind that we'll be up against Italy, one of the best teams in the last European Championship.
"It's lovely to feel excited about doing the right thing and giving players this kind of experience. These types of matches at such a young age will help them grow. We're putting in the hard work to make sure we're as motivated and prepared as possible," he added.
" Our aim is to feel comfortable on the ball. We know our opponents will try to put us in different situations, so we need to be prepared and try to get used to them. We want to be able to deal with whatever each match throws at us and adapt our style of play to the tournament itself," Mejia said.
Qatar's key player will be Zaid Faisal who is a talented all-round centre-forward. Faisal's intelligent movement occupies defenders and allows team-mates to move fluidly and exploit the spaces around him. A cool and composed finisher, he also possesses impressive leadership qualities and has captained the team.
Italy's key player is Samuele Inacio who was the top scorer at the U-17 EURO with five goals in four matches. Inacio is one Italian football's most promising young players. With excellent technical skills and the ability to move between the lines and evade opponents, the No10 plays his club football in Germany for Borussia Dortmund.
The U-17 national team is set to begin its journey in the FIFA U-17 World Cup "Qatar 2025" tomorrow afternoon, facing the Costa Rican national team in the Group C opener. The match will take place at the Aspire Zone Stadium in Doha at 4:30 pm, UAE time.
Majid Salem Al Zaabi, the UAE coach, said on Sunday:“Our participation in the FIFA U-17 World Cup finals represents a historic moment for every player in the national team, and an opportunity to prove their abilities to the world. We have worked during the past period to build a clear identity for the team, based on discipline, fighting spirit and teamwork, and we strive to be up to the task.”
Al-Zaabi added:“The Costa Rican national team is one of the teams that is characterized by physical strength and defensive organization, and we know their strengths and weaknesses very well. The players realize the importance of a strong start in our opening match in the Junior World Cup, and we will play the match with confidence and determination to achieve a positive result that will give us a great morale boost for the rest of the tournament.”
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KEY POINTS AHEAD OF QATAR'S FIRST MATCH AT FIFA U-17 World Cup 2025
Hosts of this year's edition of the tournament, Qatar will be making their first FIFA U-17 World CupTM appearance since 2005.
. The Qataris have participated in seven instalments of the competition, with five of those campaigns having come in the first six editions.
. Qatar's best performance at this tournament came back in 1991, when they finished fourth. After suffering a shoot-out heartbreak at the hands of eventual champions Ghana in the semi-finals, they were defeated on spot kicks by Argentina in the match for third place.

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