Now that the groups are set for the Fifa Under 17 World Cup, being staged in the UAE starting October 17, Paul Oberjuerge looks at how the past five host teams performed.
Mexico: champions
“El Tri” dominated, defeating Holland, France, Germany – and Uruguay in the final. Julio Gomez, who scored the winner over Germany, was the star. Mexico’s seven games attracted 251,426 fans.
Nigeria: finalists
The hosts won a group including Germany and Argentina, and topped New Zealand, South Korea and Spain to reach the final, where the Swiss Haris Seforovic, now of Real Sociedad, scored the only goal.
South Korea: group stage A blip in Korea's steady climb toward prominence produced an U17 side eliminated after two matches, a 1-0 loss to Peru and a 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica before defeating Togo. Nigeria were champions.
Peru: group stage Not one of South America's football powers, they drew with Ghana, then lost 1-0 to China and 2-0 to Costa Rica, finishing bottom of their group. Mexico, with Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela, defeated Brazil 3-0 in the final.
Finland: group stage The Finns defeated China 2-1, but lost to Mexico and were routed by Colombia. Brazil, coached by the current Al Shabab manager Marcos Paqueta, defeated the Spain of Cesc Fabregas 1-0 in the final.
