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The India U-19 team began their campaign against Croatia in the Four Nations Tournament on Tuesday and it was not exactly the start they were looking for. Facing a team whose senior side were the runners-up in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup was never going to be an easy prospect and Floyd Pinto’s men succumbed to a 5-0 defeat.
India were simply outclassed by their opponents and were already out of the contest in the first half thanks to a flurry of goals by Croatia. They were clinical in front of goal while Indian strikers profligacy made matters worse for Pinto’s squad.
On the other hand, Slovenia showed tremendous character and determination to come back from two goals down to earn a prestigious 3-3 draw against mighty France. The Slovenians will be buoyed by this impressive display and will look to carry on the momentum in this match against India.
India, meanwhile, will look to stem the rot and put up an improved performance in today’s game. The standard of opposition was always going to be high in this tournament and it is imperative that India bounce back after a crushing loss to Croatia. This will be the first meeting between the two sides.
Such opportunities provide the best possible preparation to the U-19 players for the upcoming I-league and ISL season and also the U-19 AFC Championship qualification next year. With the ultimate aim goal being a good show in the AFC championship qualifiers next year, the team will take a lot of positives and negatives from these exposure tours – which will ultimately help the players in the long run.
Full details of India's second encounter of the Four-Nation Tour:
Date: Sept 6, 2018
Match: India U19 vs Slovenia U19
Timing: 8:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST)
Venue: Gorcia, Croatia
Television Channel: No telecast
You can also follow all the live updates of the match on Sportskeeda.
