Tajikistan, making their first appearance in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, face the United States, who have qualified for every global tournament in the age category.
The match
Tajikistan v. USA, Monday 20 August, 20:00
(Changwon).
The stakes
All eyes will be on Alex Nimo to see whether he can continue
his fine form from the CONCACAF qualifers when he scored three
times. Ten of Tajikistan's starting eleven ply their trade for
domestic club Dynamo Dushanbe so they will be well used to each
other. The Tajiks will be hoping goal machine Davrondzhon
Tukhtasunov can put his recent drought behind him and find the net
again.
The players
Both sides should be able to field their strongest
team for their opening match.
The past
The two sides have never met before. While
Tajikistan are making their debut FIFA U-17 World Cup appearance,
USA have qualified for each of the 12 previous tournaments.
The birthdays
The youngest member of the USA team, Gregory Garza, and the
only professional in the squad, Abdusalem Ibrahim of FC Dallas,
turned 16 last Thursday and Wednesday respectively. Both players
are currently playing in the state of Texas.
The words
"America are a strong side and deserve to be
respected, but we are here to play our football. I want my team to
play as well as they did in Singapore."
Pulod Kodirov, Tajikistan coach.
"I didn't have the opportunity to watch Tajikistan
play, so it was difficult to prepare for this match. However, we
just need to focus on our job. I am sure it will be a good
game."
John Hackworth, USA coach.
