U-17 WC: Ramos will watch Spain play in final

Spain's Real Madrid star defender Sergio Ramos will be watching the colts take on England in the FIFA U-17 World Cup final on Saturday here, sources close to the team management said.

In a text message after Spain's 3-1 semi-final win against Mali, Ramos wished the players luck and said he would be watching the final.

"He wished players luck and said he will watch them play in the final," the source said.

Real take on Girona in an away game on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Spain team arrived in the eastern metropolis late on Thursday afternoon from Navi Mumbai and trained for one hour at the training site of the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

The first team players were seen relaxing most of the time while the second team sweated it out in the middle.

All eyes were on FC Barcelona forward Abel Ruiz who has so far scored six goals in the tournament.

Spain finished second in Group D to qualify for the knockout stages losing to Brazil in their opener 2-1. The La Rojita then beat Niger 4-0 and Korea DPR 2-0.

In their round of 16 tie, Spain edged past fellow European heavyweights France 2-1 and went on to brush aside Iran 3-1 to book their last-four date. In the semi, they rode Ruiz' brace and a goal from Ferran Torres to beat Mali 3-1.

Spain have never managed to capture the FIFA U-17 World Cup. They were runners-up in 1991, 2003 and 2007.

Spain have failed to qualify since finishing third in 2009.

--IANS

dm/sam/bg