AFC Asian Cup: Time for U-17 boys to rise and shine

Pathum Thani , June 16

A year and a half of hard work will be put to test as India eye a winning start against Vietnam in their AFC U-17 Asian Cup opener here tomorrow.

India head coach Bibiano Fernandes, having helped the team reach the semifinals in 2018, stressed on the importance of inculcating a winning culture in the boys.

“Of course, improvement in the players is key, but winning is always important. We want to develop and cultivate top players, and we cannot do that if we are not winning,” said Fernandes. “Winning matches and qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup is most important. If we don’t play the World Cup at this age, we can’t develop as a footballing nation. Development is on our mind, but we also focus on winning.”

India had also faced Vietnam in 2018 and won 1-0 after an 86th-minute penalty by Vikram Partap Singh.

India have trained in Spain and Germany in the lead-up to the tournament, playing matches against the youth sides of Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, Getafe CF, UD Levante, VfB Stuttgart and FC Augsburg. But the group stage will pose a different challenge as India have been clubbed alongside Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Japan in Group D.