Malik Karaahmet: Dreaming of U-17 World Cup title and top scorer's crown
On 16 May 2017, Turkey
were knocked out of the UEFA U-17 EURO following a 2-1 defeat to England in the
semi-finals. But having booked their place at the global showdown, the next
objective is already in sight. There are now only 40 days left until the tournament
kicks off in India and the young striker from German third division club
Karlsruher SC can hardly wait for it to start.
"We send each other
messages every day in our WhatsApp group and we keep each other updated,"
said Karaahmet, who also found out some bad news via the group chat he has with
team-mates. "Unfortunately our No6 Hasan Adiguzel tore his cruciate
ligament a couple of days ago and he'll miss the tournament. It makes us all
very sad and it's a bitter blow.
South American U-17 Players to watch in World cup
South American U-17 Players to watch in World cup
"Personally I look
after my body and my diet even more now. I'll give everything to really be 100
per cent fit when I fly to the competition. You don't get a chance like this
very often so I'm going to give it everything I've got."
Turkey will not be among
the title favorites’ in India, but neither were they prior to the U-17 European
Championship in Croatia. "Not many people thought we'd get to the
semi-finals at the EURO but we still managed it," Karaahmet said. The
5'9" (1.76m) striker played a significant role in that achievement, scoring
three goals in five games. "I'd like to get a lot of goals at the World
Cup too," said the right-footed attacker. "It'd be great to compete
for the top scorer's crown and help my team be successful."
Reaching the last four
in India would be a huge accomplishment, but privately the 17-year-old has
another target in mind: "Obviously it'd be a dream to win the World Cup
with Turkey." The first step along the way will be to progress from Group
B, where they will meet Paraguay, Mali and New Zealand.
European players to watch at the U17 FIFA World cup 2017
European players to watch at the U17 FIFA World cup 2017
"We can't take
anything for granted," said Karaahmet, an avid Instagram user.
"Paraguay are a powerful and dynamic side. Mali, as an African team, are
traditionally very athletic, so maybe New Zealand are the unknown quantity in
the group. But we want to show right from the off that we have big plans at the
tournament."
Turkey U-17 team
Karaahmet is well aware
that he still has a lot of work to do if he is to one day emulate the success
of his hero. "I'm currently working on my left foot and my acceleration as
my ratings weren't too high in those attributes on FIFA 17," said the
enthusiastic gamer. Yet just like Drogba, Karaahmet is very strong physically
and in the air.
His immediate aims are
clear, then: win the U-17 World Cup, be in contention for the top scorer's
award and improve his ratings in FIFA 18.
Turkey U-17 FIFA World cup fixtures
Turkey U-17 FIFA World cup fixtures
National team
Years
Team Apps(Gls)
2016- Turkey
U17 12(4)
2016 Turkey
U16 11(7)