Arp (r.) has yet to make a competitive first-team appearance for Hamburg, but featured in friendlies during the summer
Arp (r.) has yet to make a competitive first-team appearance for Hamburg, but featured in friendlies during the summer

Jann-Fiete Arp leads Germany U-17 World Cup squad

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Hamburg forward Jann-Fiete Arp will be a key player in Germany’s World Cup campaign in India during October.

The brightest of Bundesliga prospects, Arp became the only player at U-17 level to score two hat-tricks in one UEFA tournament at that level during the European Championships in Croatia in May. Now he will have the chance to make his mark in the World Cup.

The 17-year-old striker is one of 21 players in the German squad – of which 20 come from Bundesliga teams – that will travel to India for the tournament, being played between 6-28 October. Germany are hoping to go one step further than in the Euros, in which they suffered semi-final heartbreak at the hands of Spain.

Arp has scored seven goals in just three matches for the U19s this season, including four goals in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Hannover. He was perhaps unsurprisingly rewarded for his incredible performance at the European championships and 28 goals in 25 matches last season with a contract until 2019 at Hamburg.

Watch: You can see all four of Arp's goals from 1:53 onwards in the video below!

Another name in the Germany squad that Bundesliga fans would do well to remember is Elias Abouchabaka. The 17-year-old Leipzig midfielder was bought for a record transfer fee for a 15-year-old last summer and was named in the team of the tournament at the European Championships in May.

Chrisitian Früchtl was due to be named in the U-17 squad, but will remain in Munich after Manuel Neuer was ruled out with injury until at least the start of 2018.

Germany face Iran, Guinea and Costa Rica in Group C, one of six groups. The top two teams from each group will progress to the group stages, as well as the four best third-placed teams.