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The Blue colts have been on regular exposure tours in the run-up to the coveted AFC U16 Championship that is set to take place in Malaysia the coming September. The efforts of the AIFF have really been commendable in organizing the tours and friendly matches regularly.
Bibiano Fernandes' boys have an important match coming up on July 20, 2018. They will be going up against the Thailand U16s. The two sides met recently at the four-nation Hua Shan Cup CFA International Youth Football Tournament in Wei Nan or the China Tour. In that encounter momentary lapses in concentration by the defenders had cost them the match. It was an evenly contested match with the score being tied at 1-1 for the most part. After being a goal down, Vikram Pratap Singh helped India equalize but the young colts conceded two goals in the last three minutes to ultimately lose the match 1-3.
The young boys in Blue will be coming into this match with a spirit of vengeance. After having a rather ordinary China Tour (compared to their becoming Champions at the 4-nation Serbia Tour earlier) with two losses and one draw -- the Blue colts managed to bounce back in their fixture against the U17s of the club Buriram United FC on July 13. Bhuvnesh netted in the 3rd minute and Rohit Danu's strike in the 83rd handed the Indian colts a 2-0 win. There are a lot of positives which can be taken out of this match -- such as the possession they retained and the multiple chances they created.
Their latest fixture was against the Bangkok Glass U17s, where they came back from two goals down, courtesy of strikes by Ricky (83’) and Ravi (86’), and finished the match as a 2-2 draw. This game really showed the never-say-never attitude of the young colts as they refused to budge after constant pressure from a senior side and played with great resilience to snatch a draw.
The upcoming match against Thailand U16s will certainly be a mental test for the Blue colts.
Here is all you need to know about the upcoming encounter:
Date: July 20, 2018
Match: India U16 vs Thailand U16
Timing: 2:30 pm IST
Venue: Thailand
Television Channel: No telecast
Live Stream: mycujoo.tv
You can also follow all the live updates of the match on Sportskeeda.
Will the Indian U16 football team be able to avenge the previous defeat against the Thailand U16s, or will the latter prove to be superior this time around as well? Do share your opinion in the comments section below.
