AFC U-16 Championship 2020 Draw: India to face South Korea, Australia, and Uzbekistan in group stage

The AFC U-16 Championship 2020 to be held in Bahrain is one of the first tournaments to be played between nations in any age group post the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 18th June, the draw for the 2020 edition of the biennial tournament took place in Kuala Lumpur. The Indian U-16 team has been drawn in Group C alongside 2-time champions South Korea, Australia, and 2012 edition winners Uzbekistan.

Group A has hosts Bahrain, 2-time champions North Korea, 2008 edition winners Iran, and 1990 edition winners Qatar.

Group B has 2018 edition runner-ups Tajikistan, 2-time champions Oman, Yemen, and UAE.

Group D can be considered as the 'Group of Death' as it contains the likes of 3-times champions Japan, 2-time champions Saudi Arabia, 2-time champions China, and Indonesia.

The group stage has a lot of fixtures that the fans would have their eyeballs on. North Korea vs Iran in Group A, Tajikstan vs Oman in Group B, South Korea vs Australia in Group C, and Japan vs China in Group D are the most intriguing matches of the lot.

Bibiano Fernandes's boys had a good run in the SAFF Championship in 2019. The Indian team scored 28 goals and conceded none on their way to lifting the trophy. The 43-year old manager would be hoping for a repeat from his new-age team later this year in Bahrain.

The Colts are the only team in the tournament that has never reached the semi-final stage in their eight attempts. However, they have extra motivation this time around. This is because the top four sides of the tournament get an automatic qualification for the 2021 U-17 AFC Championship that will be held in Peru.