India drawn alongside Australia, South Korea and Uzbekistan in AFC U16 Championships
India has been drawn alongside Australia, South Korea, and Uzbekistan in Group C of the AFC U16 Championships in Bahrain next year. The event, which was supposed to start in September, has been postponed by a month owing to the current health issue and is set to kick-off on November 25, 2020.
The Indian colts have been pitted against Asian heavyweights Australia, South Korea and, Uzbekistan in Group C of the AFC U16 Championships that has been scheduled to be played later this year. India qualified for the main draw after finishing at the top of Group B in the qualifiers with seven points from three matches. The Blue Tigers defeated Bahrain and Turkmenistan by identical margins of 5-0 and played out a draw against Uzbekistan to make it through to the finals.
"I don't like to pre-empt any expectations prior to the start of the competition. At this level all the teams are tough to play against. We as a team have improved over the years. I'm sure that the boys much like myself, are looking forward to it," said Bibiano Fernandes, as reported by ESPN.
"When we last played Uzbekistan in Uzbekistan, we discovered that they were such a composed side. There's a long gap between the qualifiers and the U-16 finals and it's understandable that they have had ample time and opportunity to improve as a team. But we are ready for the challenge," added the manager.
In the last edition of the tournament in 2018, India managed to put up a spirited fight, but lost in the quarter-finals to South Korea by a 1-0 margin. As per the schedule, India will kick-start their campaign against Australia on November 26, while they are scheduled to play South Korea a couple of days later. The Blue Tigers will play their last group stage match against Uzbekistan on December 2.
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