India pitted alongside Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the AFC U16 Championships draw
India has been pitted with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen in Pot 3 for the official draw of the 2020 AFC U-16 Championships which is set to take place in Kuala Lumpur this Thursday. In the previous edition, back in 2018, India was eliminated in the quarter-finals by South Korea after a 1-0 loss.
The Indian colts produced a phenomenal performance in the 2018 AFC U-16 Championships, with them defeating Vietnam and playing out stalemates each against Iran and Indonesia to qualify for the quarter-finals of the event. The Blue Tigers made it through to the 2020 Bahrain edition after finishing at the top of Group B of the qualifiers. The colts are slotted with Iran, Saudi Arabia and, Yemen in Pot 3 for the official draw of the mega event which is scheduled to take place this Thursday in Kuala Lumpur.
“We are eagerly looking forward to the draw. The boys gave a good account of themselves when they qualified above Uzbekistan that too in Uzbekistan in the Qualifiers. It’s time for them to show their character and gear themselves for sterner tests in the future,” said U16 Indian team coach Bibiano Fernandes, as reported by Scroll.in.
In the qualifiers, India has been by far the best team in their group, having finished first with seven points in three matches. The Bibiano Fernandes coached side hammered Turkmenistan and Bahrain by identical 5-0 margins, while they played out a 0-0 draw against hosts Uzbekistan to make it through to the finals. The 2020 AFC U16 Championships in Bahrain will begin on September 16 next year and end October 3.