Kolkata, Oct. 1 (IANS): The Chile national team arrived here on Sunday to take part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup starting October 6.
A 21-member squad touched down at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport around 8.20 a.m. and checked into a plush hotel.
Chile are in Group F along with England, Iraq and Mexico and will play all of their group matches at the revamped Salt Lake Stadium which will also host the final on October 28.
Coached by Hernan Caputo, this would be Chile’s fourth appearance at a FIFA U-17 World Cup and their second in a row after hosting the tournament in 2015.
Their tournament debut came in Japan in 1993, where they took everyone by surprise by finishing third, their best performance to date.
Knocked out in the group phase in Egypt 1997, the Chileans reached the last 16 on home soil two years ago.
Chile qualified for the world finals by finishing runners-up in the South American U-17 Championship, which it hosted.
After topping Group A, La Rojita beat Venezuela and Colombia 1-0 in the final six-team round before losing their unbeaten record in a 2-0 defeat to Paraguay.
Another 1-0 win, this time over Ecuador, secured them a place in India and left them with a chance of claiming the continental crown on the final day of the competition. It was not to be, however, as Brazil put one more goal past them than all their other opponents combined, running out 5-0 winners.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Julio Borquez, Rodrigo Cancino, Hugo Araya
Defenders: Gaston Zuniga, Matias Silva, Lucas Alarcon, Sebastian Valencia, Yerco Oyanedel, Nicolas Aravena;
Midfielders: Martin Lara, Mauricio Morales, Oliver Rojas, Branco Provoste, Maximiliano Guerrero;
Forwards: William Gama, Ignacio Contreras, Ignacio Mesias, Diego Valencia, Jairo Vasquez, Pedro Campos, Antonio Diaz O’Higgins.
