U-20s ready to rise to the challenge

Opening of the Under 20 World Cup match between New Zealand and Ukraine played at North Harbour Stadium. 30 May 2015. Photo / Dean Purcell / New Zealand Herald

The FIFA under-20 World Cup gets underway with a bang today with four games to look forward to on day one.

All roads lead to Albany for New Zealand as they face a huge challenge in the opening game. Ukraine may not be mentioned in the same breath as Germany, Italy and the Netherlands when it comes to European powerhouses, but they are a very competent and passionate footballing nation.

They'll be defensively organised, meaning New Zealand will have to make the most of any opportunity that comes their way, because there may not be many.

At the back themselves, the home side should be ready for an onslaught. Ukraine will pay no heed to home advantage or a (hopefully) vociferous crowd; they'll see this as their chance to get off to a flier and take the first step towards the knockout stages.

World Cups work best when the host nation starts well; Darren Bazeley's boys have one chance to do that today and they will be well up for it.

Up the road in Whangarei, the USA will be heavily fancied to beat Myanmar in the other Group A match. When a regular tournament participant meets a debutant, the result is usually predictable but this will also be a fascinating insight into the relative strengths of New Zealand's next two opponents.

Group B fires into life in Wellington when tournament favourites Argentina get their campaign underway. They won the qualifying tournament in impressive fashion and with their best ever players Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi both having played in this tournament previously, all eyes will be on Atletico Madrid striker Angel Correa to see if he might be the next big thing to emerge from this famously football-mad nation.

Image 1 of 4: The cultural festivities are underway at the opening ceremony at North Harbour Stadium. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Panama won't be easy-beats, though. Their watertight defence was unbreached in the group stages of CONCACAF qualifying and with three of their coaches Argentinean nationals, there's more than a touch of motivation for the unfancied, yet disciplined Panama side to cause an upset.

Africa and Europe collide in the day's final game when Ghana meets Austria in the capital. Their contrasting styles should make for a fascinating contest, making the outcome practically impossible to predict.

While off-field matters have dominated football talk this week, how refreshing it is to finally have some action between the white lines to remind us that - on the field at least - this is still the beautiful game.