India U16 continues their unbeaten run since April with a dominating 3-0 win over Palestine in the opening game of AFC U16 Championship qualifiers. India next face Nepal on 22^nd of September against Nepal a win against whom could put India in driving seat for a spot in 2018 AFC U16 Championship.

India started well in the game with some good moves but Palestine defence seemed to have done their homework keeping Indian captain and star striker Vikram well marked. Vikram along with midfielder Rohit Rana have contributed 5 and 6 goals respectively in their last six games for the U16 side.

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India’s big chance came early in the game when Vikram’s ball for Bekey missed the goal by inches. India continued to pile up the pressure and in the 25^th minute when Harpreet’s strike came off the bar. Luck favoured the Palestine team as despite India’s attempt the score remained 0-0 at break.

However things changed in the second half as India took the lead six minutes into the half when Givson’s absolute stunner gave Palestine goalkeeper no chance of saving it. India continued to attack and in the 72^nd minute Bekey brilliantly glided a cross in to the net to make it 2-0. Seven minutes later, Vikram proved why he is so good by calmly shooting past a keeper to make it 3-0 as India headed into the final ten minutes of the game.

Palestine’s late comeback attempt went in vain as India defence held strong to finish the game with a clean sheet and three goals to their name. India face Nepal on 22^nd September followed by 24^th September encounter against Iraq.

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AFC U16 championship India schedule

AFC U19 championship India schedule

The draw for AFC U-16 and U-19 Championship 2018 qualifiers has been finalized. While the U-16 qualifiers are expected to be held during the month of September this year, the U-19 qualifiers would be held during the months of November after 2017 U17 World cup.

Indian youngsters were handed tough draws in both the qualifiers for the Under 16 and Under 19 editions of the AFC Asian Championship, which will be held in 2018. In the U16 edition, a tournament which India hosted last year, the Blue Colts have been placed in Group D alongside Iraq, Palestine and Nepal. The task is even tougher for the U19 side as they face Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Turkmenistan in Group D of the qualifiers.

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In the U16 qualifiers, defending champions Iraq will be favourite to top the group, India will still stand a chance if they finish within the top 5 second best positions.  But while Palestine are the new side in the qualifiers, beating the home team Nepal will be a tricky situation, although India are expected to defeat them.

The U-19 draw for the team looks a tricky one as India will have to play hosts Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Turkmenistan. The core of the India U-19 team is expected to be formed by the current U-17 team which will play in 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which would be make it even trickier to finish at least in the second best position. India has not qualified for the AFC U19 Championship for more than 10 years now and that drought could very well be extended if we fail to qualify this year.

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