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Indian footballers took down Nepal in a thriller to pave their way to the final of the 2024 U17 SAFF Championship. The Indian team took down their rivals by a score-line of 4-2 to make their way through to the summit clash of the tournament at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan on Saturday, September 28. In the finale of the tournament, India will lock horns with the winners of the second semi final, Bangladesh, who defeated Pakistan 2-2 (7-8).
India remained goalless in the first half but went on to register goals in the second half. Vishal Yadav scored in the 61st and 68th minute, while Rishi Singh netted the ball in the 85th minute whereas Hemneichung Lunkim came up with a goal in 90+5'. The first half of the game didn’t see many clear chances as teams were committing too many numbers forward and sizing each other up. Though Indian midfielders had more possession, they found it difficult to make their way through Nepal’s defence.
India’s U17 football team: Through hurdles & Glories
The Indian U17 football team is not merely a group of young lads who aim to make their way through to the senior squad, but also a collection of India’s hopes coming from the most rural areas. The team participated for the first time in the FIFA U-17 World Cup as the hosts in the 2017 edition and it was for the first ever time that India participated in the finals of a FIFA tournament. The team played their first match in the FIFA U-17 World Cup history against USA, though it was unfortunate that they ended up on the losing side of a 3-0 thriller.
Speaking of the AFC U-16 Championship, the side participated in the tournament for the first time in 1990. They finished with a third-position finish in their four-team group with the one against Jordan. They appeared in the 2023 AFC U17 Asian Cup for the third consecutive time and qualified as second-placed best ranked teams making their 9th appearance in the tournament.
India are five-time champions of the SAFF U-17 Champions, and clinched victory in 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023.
