India U-16 football team make the AFC Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 16 years

The Indian Colts played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Asian counterparts, Indonesia in their final league fixture of this year’s AFC U-16 Championships. In doing so, they secured a quarter-final berth for the first time in 16 years.

The Indian U-16 football team ended their Group C campaign with five points from three matches. They finished behind Indonesia, who had the same points tally but scored more goals than the Indians. Their previous best performance came back in 2002, when India finished the group stage with four points.

The U-16 side have been absolutely stunning in defence and are yet to concede in the ongoing championships as they managed to keep three clean sheets in three games. They finished ahead of Asian stalwarts, Iran, who ended the league stage with four points. India are likely to face the Group D winners, Korea Republic, in the quarter-finals.

“We have worked really hard to get where we are and we are very happy with our performance in the group stages. The boys gave their 100% on the field and we played according to our plan.

“This is a special moment for each and every one back home. The credit goes to all my staff, the grassroots coaches who tutored these kids at a young age, and my players for putting in the hard work day in and day out,” head coach, Bibiano Fernandes, told PTI reporters after the match.