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The Blue Colts have been extremely busy in the run-up to the AFC U16 Championship 2018. The All India Football Federation and Sports Authority of India have left no stone unturned to provide the best preparation possible to the Indian U16 football team by organizing multiple exposure tours for them wherein they played some good opponents.
The AFC U16 Championship will act as a qualifier for the U17 World Cup with the top 4 teams making it to the biggest junior football event. India's previous best-ever finish at the Championship was a quarter-final finish in the 2002 edition but hopes are high this time as there is an extremely strong unit being sent to Malaysia.
The highlight came when the Blue Colts defeated defending Asian champions Iraq 1-0 in the WAFF Boys' Championships. This proved that the young colts have the mettle to achieve great heights in the future and can defeat the best in the business on their day.
From playing the Jockey Cup to the Sport Chain Cup to the tours in Serbia, China, Thailand, and Malaysia; the Indian team U16 has always been on the move in the past 6 months.
Bibiano Fernandes' boys have showed signs of improvement with each passing tournament and have trained really hard. They play as a unit and captain Vikram Kumar has led them from the front, being the top goalscorer and the Most Valuable Player in many of the exposure tours.
The India U16 football team has been grouped with Iran, Vietnam, and Indonesia in Group C and will begin their campaign in the tournament against Vietnam on 21 September.
It will be great to see how the Blue Colts fare as they gear up to lock horns with the best in Asia in a bid to make their place in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru.
The Indian football team's Twitter handle has been active in sharing the information about the Indian U16 team.
Meet the young boys who will be representing India at the event in one place:
