India will be looking to start their campaign with a win as the host nation take on UAE  in their AFC U-16 championship in Group A at  Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao today.  Iran and Saudi Arabia will play the inaugural match in the same group.

The  host nation all set to make their seventh appearance at the AFC  U -16 Championship.The ‘Blue Colts’ will be expecting the Home Conditions to help them better the previous best achievement in the tournament. India’s previous best was quarter finals in 2002.

After finishing last in AIFF Youth Cup Indian boys have undergone tree months successful training in Germany and Norway.This training program has helped our young boys to raise their game a bit.

“We have qualified in this tournament on merit and are now looking forward to qualify for the World Cup U-17 next year in India on merit by reaching the semi-finals of this tournament,” said India’s chief coach Nicolai Adam.

Also read :“I have no idea about my rivals”, says UAE U-16 coach prior to India game tomorrow
“We are placed in a tough group along side UAE, Iran and Saudi Arabia and it is always good to play against strong opponents and see where we lie as we prepare ourselves for the U-17 World Cup,” he added.

However the absence of key players is sign of worry for India. As some of the key players are injured while other are having date of birth problems.It can prove to be setback for India as they look forward to reach to the semifinals in order to qualify for next years u-17 world cup.

On the other side UAE who are ranked much higher than team India  were the first team to arrive in Panaji to get used to the conditions. Before this encounter The UAE team has  been to Malaysia  to prepare for this tournament. When asked about their opponent ,”We are going to play India tomorrow. But I have no idea about my rivals. We have prepared to our strengths and we’ll give our best to churn out the best possible result,” said the coach of UAE at team’s press conference yesterday.

India who are ranked  at 152 will surely be having tough task ahead of them in opening clash against UAE who are ranked 74 in FIFA rankings. Also injuries to key players such as Reamsochung Chongompipa Aimol who fractured his leg in the last practice match in Germany will be big concern for India.

The match will start at 7 PM in Fatorda on Wednesday (September 15, 2016) and will be telecast live on Star Sports network.

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India is grouped against the United Arab Emirates, IR Iran and Saudi Arabia in the group A. Defending champions DPR Korea are clubbed with Uzbekistan, Thailand and Yemen in the Group D.

Comparatively, A difficult task for the blues. Will be a test of skill and strength to make a mark in the group stage.

The 21 Indian players are listed below:

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

Defenders: Boris Singh Thangjam, Jitendra Singh, Mohammed Sarif Khan, Mohamad Rakip, Gaston D’Silva, Narender

Midfielders: Sanjeev Stalin, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Khumanthem Ninthoinganba Meetei, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Komal Thatal, Aniket Anil Jadhav, Lalengmawia, Saurabh Meher, Joseph Vanlalhruaia

Forwards: Aman Chetri, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Nonganba Singh Akoijam.

With all support for a successful campaign, Football counter backs the blue.

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