FIFA U-17 World Cup: Skipper Jann-Fiete Arp joins German team

MARGAO: Germany skipper Jann-Fiete Arp has joined his team here and taken part in the second practice session today under the watchful eyes of coach Christian Wuck at the Nagao ground, Verna.

Arp did not come along with the other members of the team, who arrived here yesterday, as he was making his Bundesliga debut for Hamburg against Werder Bremen. The match ended in a goal-less draw.

The players had the first training session in the afternoon yesterday soon after they arrived in Goa. Arp reached here late last night.

Wuck, who has been with the U-16 and U-17 teams since 2012, got down to business right from the time the team landed in the city.

"We are happy to be here and we cannot wait for the competition to start. We have another five days to prepare ourselves and get acclimatise to the weather," said Wuck.

17-year-old Arp, who became the first Bundesliga player to be born after 2000, is one the most talked about young talents in Germany. He scored two hat-tricks in UEFA European Under-17 Championship in May and the team will revolve around him to win the title.

Germany lost to Spain in the semifinals but still qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup as four teams made the cut.

Germany are placed in Group C along with Costa Rica, Iran and Guinea. They will begin their campaign against Costa Rica on October 7.Germany have appeared in the FIFA U-17 World Cup nine times so far but have not yet won the tournament.

They are one of the favourites to win the title this time. They were the runners-up in the inaugural tournament in 1985 and finished third in 2007 and 2011, and fourth in 1997.They were knocked out by Croatia in the Round of 16 in Chile two years ago.