Second half strikes from Skipper Amarjit Singh (74’), Abhishek Halder (80’) and Edmund (90+2) proved to be the difference between the two sides in a match largely dominated by the Indian colts.

India started off aggressively as the young colts dominated possession in the final third creating few close chances. The big chance came in the 13th minute when Rahim Ali’s rasping shot from inside the box got blocked by the Turkmenistan’s defence before rolling towards their custodian for an easy save. Seven minutes later, Ali was at it again, however this time as well his shot was saved by the opposition custodian.

India continued domination and came close to opening the lead when in the 26th minute, Amarjit set up Nongdamba Naorem whose shot from outside the box went inches wide of the goal. Despite the domination in the first half, both teams went into the tunnel on level pegging as the score read 0-0.

The second half began with the same vigour for Indians and in the 51st minute it almost paid off when Boris Singh, after playing a one-two with Abhishek Halder, got clear on to goal only shoot wide of the post. However at the other end against the run of play Turkmenistan almost took the lead but the final shot rattled the crossbar. Two minutes later on the other end of play, Anwar Ali’s powerful header off a Sanjeev Stalin corner went inches over the crossbar.

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An end to end game began as soon Dheeraj was called in to action, as the custodian pulled off a spectacular save to keep Turkmenistan from scoring after Anwar Ali had lost his marking player. However, just when it looked like Turkmenistan is beginning to control the game, India came back with a goal. In the 74th minute, India took the lead after Amarjit Singh blasted the ball home to make it 1-0.

Five minutes later Abhishek Halder doubled the lead after he tapped the ball into an empty net following an accurate cross from the right flank. Turkmenistan looked to go all out attack in the final moments of the game. The move eventually gave India its third goal as Edmund converted a counter-attacking move to finish the game at 3-0

The game ended with India earning four points in three matches of their AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers with a third place finish in the group D and out of the qualifications race.

The post India defeat Turkmenistan 3-0 in final AFC qualifiers group game appeared first on Football Counter.

Head Coach Luis Norton de Matos named his list of 23 for India’s campaign in the AFC U-19 Qualifiers to be held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Matos picked his squad after a week-long camp in the Capital which is a mix of India’s U-17 World Cup squad and India’s U-19 team which played in the SAFF U-19 Championship in Bhutan.

Striker Aniket Jadhav and Abhijit Sarkar were left out of the squad while winger Komal Thatal was medically unfit after he caught fever and could not train with the team. With the team struggling for goals in the world cup, Matos has went with Edmund and lalawampuia who have managed to find the net consistently in their recent outings.

India are scheduled to play Qatar U-19 in a friendly match in Doha on October 25 as part of their preparation for the AFC Qualifiers. Besides hosts Saudi Arabia, India have been clubbed with Yemen and Turkmenistan in Group D and play their first match against Saudi Arabia on November 4.

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The 23-member squad stays as follows:

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh, Mohammad Nawaz, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.

Defenders: Namgyal Bhutia, Sahil Panwar, Deepak Tangri, Ashish Rai, Boris Singh, Sanjeev Stalin, Anwar Ali, Jitendra Singh.

Midfielders: Abhishek Halder, Princeton Rebello, Suresh Singh, Amarjit Singh, Rahul KP, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Nongdamba Naorem, Jeakson Singh.

Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Roshan Singh, Lalawmpuia, Rahim Ali.

India’s match-days stay are as follows:

November 4: India vs Saudi Arabia.

November 6: India vs Yemen.

November 8: India vs Turkmenistan.

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The post Komal Thatal, Aniket Jadhav out of 23 – men squad for AFC U19 qualifiers appeared first on Football Counter.