Players from FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 in India who can make their mark in Qatar 2022

The upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar will be a special one for Indian football fans.

While there has always been significant interest surrounding the football World Cup in the country, fans from the sub-continent have rarely enjoyed a true personal connection to the tournament.

However, it may very well be changing during the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 thanks to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017, which was the first-ever major FIFA tournament held in India.

The tournament provided Indian football fans the rare opportunity to watch some of the brightest and most talented young footballers around the globe play in their own backyard.

Five years on, several of the stars who emerged from the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 have already made a name for themselves on the international football scene and are primed to feature in the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Here’s a list of some of the players who played in the under-17 FIFA World Cup in India who can become stars in the senior event in Qatar later this year.

Phil Foden (England)

England emerged as the champions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 in India, marking their first title in the age-group tournament. Consequently, some English players left a huge mark but none, perhaps, more than Manchester City attacker Phil Foden.

Phil Foden was the Golden Ball winner, given to the best player of the tournament, at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and was instrumental in the young Three Lions’ title charge. Besides his brilliant work ethic both on and off the ball, the attacking midfielder pitched in with one assist and three goals in seven matches. Two of his goals came in England’s 5-2 win over Spain in the final.

Interestingly, heading into the tournament it was Manchester United’s Angelo Gomes who was tipped as a potential England star in the tournament but eventually, England found their hero from the Sky Blue side of Manchester.

Since his exploits in India, Foden has emerged as a world star, becoming a regular in the Manchester City side under Pep Guardiola. The Spanish coach, known for his tendency to rotate the players in his team, rarely drops Phil Foden from his starting line-ups - a glowing testimony to the Englishman’s triumphs.

Since making his senior club debut in 2017, Phil Foden has helped Manchester City to four Premier League titles, one FA Cup trophy and runners-up finish in the UEFA Champions League.

Phil Foden has also been a mainstay in Gareth Southgate’s England national team since making his senior international debut in 2020 and was a linchpin of the side which made the final of the Euros in 2021.

Jadon Sancho (England)

Heading into the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017, Jadon Sancho was already an established star, having left the Manchester City academy to join Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

The star status was in show during the group stages of the U-17 FIFA World Cup in India as the skilful winger notched up three goals and two assists in just three games. Unfortunately, Sancho’s campaign was cut short after Borussia Dortmund recalled him just ahead of the knockout stages.

Needless to say, Jadon Sancho could have posed a serious threat to his fellow Manchester City academy graduate Phil Foden’s Golden Ball credentials if he would have stayed for the entire competition.

Irrespective, Jadon Sancho would go on to become one of the most coveted wingers in world football during his stay with Borussia Dortmund for the next four years, making over 100 appearances for the club. He won the DFL Supercup 2019 and the DFB Pokal 2020–21 trophies during his stay at the Signal Iduna Park and was the top goal scorer in DFB Pokal.

Jadon Sancho was also one of the top assist makers in the Bundesliga during his five seasons in Germany before sealing a big-money move to Manchester United in 2021. Jadon Sancho’s form for the Red Devils has run hot and cold but it hasn’t stopped him from being a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England side since making his senior England debut in 2018. He was also part of the England squad which made it to the Euro 2020 final.

Besides Foden and Sancho, former Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi was a big part of the England U-17 football team’s success in 2017. He scored one goal and laid down two assists. He is currently on loan to Bayer Leverkusen.

Ferran Torres (Spain)

Spain’s road to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 final was spearheaded by their attacking quartet of Abel Ruiz, César Gelabert, Sergio Gomez and Ferran Torres.

Among the four, Ferran Torres is already a well-established name today with around 30 caps for the Spanish team since his senior debut in 2020.

Valencia academy graduate Torres, who scored two goals and provided three assists at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, was a mainstay for the Valencia senior team from 2017 to 2020 before moving to England to play for Manchester City.

During his two short years at the Etihad, the Spanish winger won the Premier League trophy and the EFL Cup before moving to Barcelona in 2022. He has been a regular starter for the Catalan giants under Xavi at Barca.

Sergio Gomez (Spain)

Though not as established as Ferran Torres yet and still awaiting his senior national team debut, attacking left back Sergio Gomez is an exciting prospect and Spain coach Luis Enrique’s love for goal-scoring sidebacks can mean that Gomez may play in Qatar.

To underline Gomez’s attacking prowess, he scored four goals and provided two assists for Spain at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which set him up for the prestigious Silver Ball award.

The fleet-footed Spaniard can also operate as an attacking midfielder in addition to his left-back role.

After productive stints with Borussia Dortmund, Huesca and Anderlecht, Sergio Gomez sealed a move to City this summer and a stint under Pep will not hurt his World Cup prospects.

Josh Sargent (USA)

The USA’s run till the FIFA U-17 World Cup quarter-finals before being ousted by eventual champions England was built on some very impressive performances. Forward Josh Sargent was at the centre of it all, joint top-scoring for his country with three goals.

Josh Sargent has been fairly regular for the US national football team since his debut in 2018 and will be expected to play a big role in Qatar as well.

The American was with German side Werder Bremen from 2017 to 2021 before moving to England to play for Norwich City.

Timothy Weah (USA)

Timothy Weah, USA’s other top scorer alongside Sargent at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017, is the son of legendary Liberian footballer George Weah, who is still regarded as one of the best players in the world to have never played in the World Cup.

Playing for the US, Timothy does have a good chance at putting the Weah name on a World Cup team sheet in Qatar.

Having come through the youth ranks at the renowned Paris Saint-Germain Academy in France, Timothy made a handful of appearances for the Parisians before moving to Celtic on loan. 

After a disappointing spell at Scotland, the attacker moved back to France and has been an integral part of the Lille team, which broke PSG’s monopoly on the Ligue 1 in the 2020-21 season.

Timothy Weah has also featured regularly in the USA senior national football team over the past couple of years.

Sergino Dest (USA)

Left back Sergino Dest played four matches for the USA in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India and over the last few years, has emerged as one of the most exciting North American talents in world football.

A look at the Netherlands-born player’s clubs is a good indicator of his progress. The full back was drafted to Barcelona after just a single season with Ajax.

After being a regular under Ronald Koman at Barca for two seasons, Dest, however, was deemed surplus by new boss Xavi at Camp Nou but Italian giants AC Milan were at hand to sign up the talented wide player on loan.

Sergino Dest is a regular in the US national team and can turn a few heads at Qatar.

Aurelien Tchouameni (France)

A box-to-box midfielder, Aurelien Tchouameni made only two appearances for France at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India but since then, has emerged as a serious talent in world football.

A product of the Bordeaux youth setup, Aurelien Tchouameni joined Monaco in 2019 and it took him just three seasons with the red and whites to catch Real Madrid’s eyes.

The Los Blancos reeled in Tchouameni with a massive six-year contract in the summer of 2022 and such was Real coach Zinedine Zidane’s conviction about the 22-year-old that Real Madrid sold Casemiro, regarded as one of the best central midfielders in the world, in the same window to Manchester United.

The Frenchman has been a fixture in the Real Madrid starting line-up this season and has put on some spectacular performances for the Los Blancos.

Since making his senior debut for France last year, Aurelien Tchouameni has already played 14 times for Les Bleus and looks locked on to make Didier Deschamps’ squad despite the abundance of talents France boast in his position.

Takefusa Kubo (Japan)

Takefusa Kubo was one of the standout attackers for Japan in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017, contributing with one goal and two assists.

The Japanese international’s move from FC Tokyo to Real Madrid in 2019 made headlines and despite featuring regularly for the Los Blancos in preseason, Kubo failed to break into the first team.

After several loan spells across Spain, Takefusa Kubo looks well settled in the Real Sociedad team and will look to add to his 19 Japan caps at Qatar.

Besides the above-mentioned lot, Spanish centre-back pair Eric Garcia and Hugo Guillamón, Brazilian forward Paulinho and English players Emile Smith Rowe and Conor Gallagher are some of the other players who may feature in Qatar.