Fifa U17 World Cup: Nigeria the youngest, Germany the oldest (Average age of squads)

Fifa U17 World Cup: Nigeria the youngest, Germany the oldest (Average age of squads)

According to this goal.com report, Nigeria is going to Chile with the youngest team of the tournament. Weird right?

Well, coach Emmanuel Amuneke's team as an average age of 16.42. Read the full report below.

The stage is set for the sixteenth edition of the Fifa U17 World Cup with all the participating teams submitting their final list for the championship. With an average age of 16.42 years, Nigeria are taking the youngest bunch of players to the championship in which they have won four times.

Despite placing fourth at the African U17 Championship, coach Emmanuel Amuneke has kept faith in majority of the players that played in Niger Republic – with Kelechi Nwakali and Victor Osimhen leading the pack.

Germany, on the other hand, have the oldest squad, with an average age of 17.0 years, just ahead of Russia, Belgium and Mexico.

Average age of each 2015 U17 World Cup squad

Team	Youngest player	Oldest player	Average age
Argentina	Luis Olivera (16)	Marcos Peano(17)	16.8
Chile	Macelo Allende (16)	Yerko Leiva (17)	16.6
Croatia	Matej Hudećek (16)	Adrian Šemper (17)	16.9
Nigeria	Edidiong Essien (15)	Orji Okwonkwo (17)	16.42
USA	Tyler Adam (16)	Joe Gallardo (17)	16.9
Brazil	Léo Santos (16)	Leandro (17)	16.9
England	Herbie Kane (16)	Chris Willock (17)	16.8
South Korea	Kim Jung-min (15)	Lee Sang-min (17)	16.8
Australia	James Delianov (15)	Josh Hope (17)	16.6
Mexico	Edwin Lara (16)	Fernando Hernández (17)	16.9
Belgium	Dante Rigo (16)	Ismail Azzaoui (17)	16.9
Ecuador	Byron Castillo (16)	Jhonner Montezuma (17)	16.9
Costa Rica	Miguel Aju (15)	Ian Smith (17)	16.8
Germany	Dominik Franke (17)	Salih Özcan (17)	17.0
Honduras	Javier Delgado (16)	Darixon Vuelto (17)	16.6
North Korea	Pak Yong-gwan (16)	Jong Ju-song (17)	16.6
Russia	Andrei Kudriavtchev (16)	Nikolay Prudnikov	16.9
France	Dayot Upamecano (16)	Jeff Reine-Adelaïde (17)	16.6
Mali	Fofana Mamadou (15)	Zoumana Simpara (17)	16.43
Syria	Mohammed Khoja (16)	Hassan Damen (17)	16.8
Paraguay	Ricardo Gabazza (16)	Blas Riveros (17)	16.8
New Zealand	Wali Mohammadi (16)	Oliver Ceci (17)	16.6
South Africa	Wiseman Meyiwa (15)	Nelson Maluleke (17)	16.7
Guinea	Alhassane Soumah (15)	Jules Keita (17)	16.7

Hosts Chile have gone for a mix of players between 16 – 17 years as coach Miguel Ponce has included 13 players who are 17, while Macelo Allende, Simón Ramírez and Luis Ureta bring the average down to 16.6.

The award for tallest player at the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup goes to New Zealand defender Hunter Ashworth, towering above all at 195cm. Should the 17-year-old be at his best in Chile, chances are that he might just stop all the attacking forays of opposing strikers.

Guinea’s midfielder Karim Conte is the shortest player in the competition at 140 cm.

Heading into the competition, some teams have adopted a more youthful approach than others while most have gone for a blend of ages. After the final on November 8 at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina Del Mar, we will see which approach works best.

Source: Goal.com