FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022: Top India players to watch out for in the age-group showpiece
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup gets underway on October 11 and India who will be making its debut will play their first match against the USA.
The potential future stars will be in action when the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup gets underway in India from Tuesday, October 11. India is hosting the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time having previously hosted the U-17 Men’s World Cup in 2017.
The India women’s team will be making their debut in the tournament and will look to make a huge impression with their display. We take a look at the Indian players who will be eager to make their presence felt during the tournament.
Women’s World Cup 2022: A look at Indian players who are ready to shine at the world stage
Lynda Kom Serto
India will be relying on their promising forward to score goals during the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament. Lynda was instrumental in the Indian Tigresses winning the SAFF U-18 Championship in Jamshedpur in March this year. The striker ended the tournament with five goals and was also awarded. The player from Manipur will be eager to find the back of the net right from match 1 against the USA.
Astam Oraon
The defender will be leading the India team at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup. Oraon is a versatile player who cannot only play as a full-back but can also turn herself into a defensive midfielder for her team when needed. While playing for Jharkhand in the Junior National Football Championships in 2019, Oraon scored five goals in six matches while playing in the midfielder position. Her performance led to Jharkhand reaching the finals but the team was unable to get past Himachal Pradesh.
Naketa
Just like Lynda Kom Serto, Naketa was part of the Indian side that won the SAFF U18 Championships this year. The 17-year-old will be part of the back four during th event. At the domestic level, the youngster plays for Ahmedabad-based club ARA FC. She had even scored a goal through a freekick in the Indian Women’s League earlier this year against the Indian Arrows side.
Nitu Linda
The midfielder is an exciting upcoming talent from Jharkhand who has put up some great performances in age-group tournaments. Linda was instrumental in Jharkhand winning the Sub-Junior Girls National Football Championship for the first time in 2019.
She scored 13 goals in four matches during the tournament. She was even selected for the SAFF U-18 Championship, in which the 16-year-old scored the lone goal against Bangladesh in the final. The team will be hoping for her to come up with a strong performance during the tournament.
Babina Devi Lisham
The midfielder from Manipur was part of the India squad that travelled to Italy and Norway for the sixth Torneo Female Football Tournament and the Open Nordic Tournament WU16. Babina came from the bench to play for India during their loss against Iceland in the second match. Babina was also part of the India squad that won the 2022 U-18 SAFF Championship title.
All you need to know about FIFA U-17 World Cup
The tournament will which gets underway on October 11 will conclude on October 30. A total of 16 national teams will be part of the event and they have been divided into four groups. The matches will be hosted by three cities. Navi Mumbai, Goa and Bhubaneswar will host all the group matches, while the knockout fixtures will be played at Goa and Navi Mumbai. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will also host the Final. India has been placed alongside USA, Morocco and Brazil will make up Group A,
