India’s U-19 National team to play two back-to-back friendlies in Serbia 

What's the story?

The U-19 National Team would be in Serbia playing two back-to-back friendlies on 13th September and 17th September 2018 respectively against Serbia U-19. They would be travelling to Serbia after completing their campaign to the four-nation tournament being held in Croatia currently.

In case you didn't know...

India U-19 National team is currently participating in the four-nation tournament being held in Croatia, competing against strong opponents such France, Slovenia and Croatia as a part of the five-day tour.

This tour comes after successful performances by the Blue Colts in the COTIF Cup in Spain last month, where India beat Argentina 2-1 and held current U-20 runners-up Venezuela to a 0-0 draw.

The heart of the matter

These matches are part of the exposure tour being organized by the All India Football Federation in coordination with SAI to provide the young boys with the best possible opportunities for preparation and gaining the much-required experience competing against stronger opponents.

All these endeavours are to provide them with the much-required boost for match preparation and skill development ahead of the forthcoming Hero I-League season, whilst keeping the U-19 AFC Championship qualification next year in sight.

The National Team Director, Abhishek Yadav, commented about the importance of regularly playing against high ranked teams from around the world. He added that Serbia would be the fifth top-50 team as per FIFA rankings that the national team would be facing within the last forty-five days, in addition to having already competed against the best nations from two continents, South America and Europe, which have undoubtedly the best footballing talent around the globe.

These matches create higher motivation levels amongst players and staff and are learning opportunities which would go a long way to shape up a better future for Indian Football.

What's next?

With the support of the All India Football Federation, these boys are set to continue their campaign playing the top European nations and other countries featuring in the Top 50 of FIFA rankings from around the world. From what we have seen in the recent performances, India cannot be taken lightly.