Swiss Win U-17 World Cup

Heading into this year's U-17 World Cup, it was considered unlikely that Switzerland would even make it out of their group, which featured Brazil, Mexico, and Japan. The Swiss defied the odds by winning all three of their group stage games, and they kept the momentum going through the knockout rounds, culminating in a surprise run to the title. This was the first time that Switzerland participated in the U-17 World Cup, and it obviously could not have gone any better for the debutantes.

It was a hostile environment in the final for the Swiss, who were facing off against hosts Nigeria in front of 60,000 Nigerian fans at Abuja's National Stadium. They were able to weather the storm early on, however, and kept the hosts off the score sheet. The best scoring opportunity in an otherwise defensive first half came from Nigeria's Sani Emmanuel. Emmanuel, who would go on to win the tournament's Golden Ball award, muscled off a defender and broke in on goal, but his attempt to curl a shot inside the far post went well wide.

In the second half, Haris Seferovic threatened to put the Swiss on the board when he used to body to shield and turn his defender before firing a hard shot just wide of the post. Seferovic, who finished the tournament tied with the most goals scored, would find the back of the net soon enough, though, as his header off a corner kick in the 63rd minute just found its way over the head of the Nigerian defender on the near post.

The Nigerians nearly equalized via Yusuf Otubanjo, whose thumping header rang off the crossbar. The rebound fell to another Nigerian attacker whose short-range effort was stopped by a fantastic scrambling save by Switzerland's Benjamin Siegrist, who would be awarded with the tournament's Golden Glove award. The Nigerians would continue to press for a winner, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The final whistle sent the Swiss bench into a jubilant celebration, while also sending most of the fans home in disappointment.

Switzerland looked like champions throughout the tournament, defeating perennial powers Brazil, Italy, and Germany before besting the Nigerians in the final. The Swiss federation will hope to defend their title two years from now in Mexico, while this group of players will set their eyes on the professional ranks.