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The Indian U19 team is currently on an exposure Tour in Croatia and are playing in the 4-nation Tournament.
The young colts did not have the best of starts to their campaign as they received a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the hosts, Croatia U-19s. Floyd Pinto's boys were just not clinical in front of the goal while their opponents were the exact opposite.
In their next match, the India U-19s were up against Slovenia. The boys showed great temperament in this match and held their nerves against the strong opponents till the very end. However, a late goal in extra time (93th minute) cost India three points.
The biggest challenge awaits Pinto's boys as they get set to lock horns against the U-19s of France, the senior team of which won the recently concluded FIFA World Cup.
The Indian U20 team had recently defeated Argentina's U20 side, which is also one of the most decorated U20 team in the history of the U20 FIFA World Cup. The 2-1 win had come in the COTIF Cup in Spain. The Indian U19 will look to draw inspiration from this win and keep their hopes high.
France U-19s will certainly have the favorites tag going into the upcoming encounter. However, it will be wrong to write off the Indian colts as they are a capable side and will also be looking to end their campaign in the Four-Nation tournament on a high. The upcoming fixture promises to be a great learning experience for the Floyd Pinto and his boys as France has a quality U-19 team and no matter what the result. It will definitely aid in pointing out the key areas India needs to work on and having game time against such a side is a big feat in itself, for which the All India Football Federation and the Sports Authority of India must be lauded.
After this exposure Tour ends, the Indian U-19 team travels to Serbia to play friendlies against their U-19 side, on September 13th and 19th, respectively.
Playing back-to-back matches against stronger teams will provide the U19 team the much-required experience, enhance their skills, and act as preparation for the U19 AFC Championship qualifications next year.
Here is all you need to know about India U19s upcoming encounter:
Date: Sept 9, 2018
Match: India U-19 vs France U-19
Timing: 8:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST)
Venue: Velica Gorcia, Croatia
Television Channel: No telecast
You can also follow ALL the LIVE updates of the match on Sportskeeda.
Predict the result of the upcoming match in the comments section below.
