Mumbai, July 7 (PTI): Hosts India were today drawn with two-time champions Ghana, United States and Colombia in a tough Group A of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup.
India will kick off their campaign against the USA on October 6 before taking on Colombia on October 9. The hosts will conclude the first phase with a match against Ghana, winners in 1991 and 1995, on October 12 in New Delhi.
The first match of the tournament will be between Colombia and Ghana (Group A) and New Zealand versus Turkey (Group B) in New Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
India, by virtue of being hosts, were the first to be placed in Group A in the draw in which Rio Olympics silver medal winning shuttler P V Sindhu and Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri took part along with football legends Esteban Cambiasso and Nwanko Kanu.
India will play their three Group A games in New Delhi while the other five cities earmarked for the October 6-28 tournament are Mumbai, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati and Kolkata which will also host the final.
Two teams from each group along with the four best third placed teams in the preliminary phase will move to the round of 16, to be held from October 16.
The quarter finals are to be held on October 21 and 22 followed by the two semi-finals on October 25 in Guwahati and Navi Mumbai.
The third place game and the final are both scheduled in Kolkata on October 28.
India, New Caledonia and Niger are making their debuts in the tournament.
The Groups:
Group A: India, USA, Ghana, Colombia
Group B: Turkey, Mali, New Zealand, Paraguay
Group C: Iran, Guinea, Germany, Costa Rica
Group D: North Korea, Niger, Brazil, Spain
Group E: Honduras, Japan, New Caledonia, France
Group F: Iraq, Mexico, Chile, England.
