Football: Youngsters arrive with cup hopes and dreams

As the clock ticks down towards the start of the Fifa U20 World Cup, many of the world's best young footballers are starting to arrive in New Zealand - along with the hopes and dreams of their countrymen back home.

The tournament is expected to reach 170 million television viewers across 100 countries when the tournament starts at the end of the month, and for many countries, the youth teams' trials and tribulations will be front page news.

The first World Cup participants to arrive, and stay, in New Zealand were Panama, who touched down at 4.30am last Thursday before losing 2-1 to the Junior All Whites later that day. Panama will play on the opening day of the World Cup against favourites Argentina, and manager Derek Cannavaggio said a win would light up the country.

"If Panama could beat Argentina in the opening game I can't even begin to tell you how the press would react," said Cannavaggio. "It would be historic, front page news. We would win our first match ever at U20 level and it would be a dream come true.

"Panama eats and breathes football. Everyone back home is following everything these boys do.

"The buildup has been phenomenal; the qualification through CONCACAF was brilliant. These are the future stars."

Cannavaggio said Panama were perceived as the minnows of their group, which also contains Ghana and Austria, but decided to arrive in New Zealand 25 days before the start of the tournament to give the team the best possible chance of making history by making the knockout stages for the first time.

"We were a little worried about the weather. We come from a humid and hot country, so it made sense for us to come here and train here, getting used to the weather. It's a 20-hour trip from Panama to New Zealand so the time change is a factor too."

Cannavaggio, one of three in the Panama camp who speak English, said the squad was mainly made up of players from Panama's professional league.

"This isn't their first rodeo. Most of the team has played together at U17 level and a number have played for the full national team."

Panama showed their potential by thrashing Australia 6-1 in a warm-up match in Hamilton yesterday. They next play Qatar, who beat New Zealand 2-0, yesterday in Hamilton on Wednesday before training for a week in Taupo and then returning to Hamilton to play Uruguay on March 20. They will be based in Wellington for the World Cup.