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The India U20 men's team kick off their COTIF Cup campaign later on Sunday against local side Murcia U20.
Having reached Spain earlier this week, the Indian team played a friendly match against local club side Union Deportiva Alzira U-22 at the Venice Stadium in Valencia on July 25, 2018. The likes of Anwar Ali, Boris Singh, Ninthoi Meetei and Aman Chetri impressed in the 1-1 draw.
It was Aman Chetri’s 71st-minute strike that had given India the lead. However, it was cancelled by a late, late goal coming in the added extra time of the second half as the opposition capitalized on a defensive mistake from a set piece scenario.
The match against Murcia U20 will be just the beginning for Floyd Pinto's boys, who are aiming for FIFA U20 World Cup qualification. Later on in the tournament, sterner tests will await when they clash swords with Argentina U-20, Venezuela U-20, and Mauritania U-20.
Previously, Director of the National Teams and AIFF (All India Football Federation) Executive Committee member, Abhishek Yadav had explained why such a tournament was important for the colts.
"The COTIF tournament in Spain falls well into our plans and we are excitedly looking forward to it. The Sub-20 category, India will be up against teams from renowned football powerhouses that will be preparing for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 qualifiers,” he had said.
Pinto, who has been named as the coach after Luis Norton de Matos stepped own citing personal reasons, has a tough task ahead of him.
Here's the full Indian squad:
Goalkeepers: Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Vishal Dube, Sachin Suresh.
Defenders: Boris Singh, Sahil Panwar, Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin, Jitendra Singh, Ashis Rai, Deepak Tangri, Narendra, Sumit Rathi.
Midfielders: Suresh Singh, Ninthoi Meetei, Amarjit Singh, Abhijit Sarkar, Jeakson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Rahul K.P, Harmanpreet Singh, Lalengmawia, Jashandeep Singh.
Forwards: Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav, Aman Chetri.
Here is all you need to know about the match:
Date: July 29, 2018
Tournament: COTIF Cup 2018
Match: India U20 vs Murcia U20
Time: 10.30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST)
Broadcast: No Live broadcast in India
Live Stream: Alkass TV
You can also follow all LIVE updates on Sportskeeda.
