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#2 Best/ Worst: India fail to make next round of the 2019 AFC Women's U-19 Championships
India was grouped alongside Thailand, Nepal, and Pakistan in the Group B of the first round of qualifiers for the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championships. They obliterated Pakistan 18-0 in the first match with Renu pumping in five goals and Manisha and Devneta Roy bagging a hat-trick.
However, they failed to carry forward their momentum against Nepal to whom they succumbed 2-0. Despite the odds against them, they beat the higher ranked Thailand 1-0 in the last match of the group.
Thailand, Nepal, and India all ended up having 6 matches, but when goal difference between the three teams was taken into account, India finished third. Only the group winners and the second-placed team could make it through and, India got knocked out.
But, we need to applaud their spirited performance as Thailand is an extremely strong side in women's football. Their senior team even qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
#1 Best/Worst: India fail to qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup
India qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup as the hosts and crashed out of the group stages of the tournament. However, no Indian team, whether senior or junior, had qualified for the tournament by going through the rigorous qualification methods.
Bibiano Fernandes and his group of U-16 boys entered the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship as the underdogs but left with their head held high. The Blue Colts finished second in their group after defeating Vietnam 1-0 and holding Iran and Indonesia to a 0-0 stalemate.
A win over South Korea would ensure their 2019 U-17 FIFA World Cup qualification, but they stumbled in the final hurdle. Jeong Sang-bin broke India's hearts in the 68th minute when he slotted the ball past the goalkeeper.
Vikram Pratap Singh and his comrades' performance is the closest India has come to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
