Indian Football Round-up: The Best and Worst Moments of 2018

#4 Worst: India lose 2018 SAFF Championship

India lost the 2018 SAFF Championships final to the Maldives

India won the 2015 SAFF Championships by defeating Afghanistan 2-1 in the final. With Afghanistan not in the fray, the Blue Tigers were the only team ranked below 100 in the tournament and the favourites to defend their title.

Stephen Constantine named a U-23 side for the tournament as they would gain valuable experience ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The plans worked well in the group stages as they defeated Sri Lanka and Maldives 2-0. In the semi-finals, they hammered Pakistan 3-1 before the Maldives pipped them 2-1 in the final.

India could have won their 7th SAFF Championship in Bangladesh but failed.

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#4 Best: India U-20 team beats Argentina U-20s

India's U-17 World Cup team beat the U-20 team of Argentina 2-1 in the COTIF Cup in Spain

Heading into the match, Floyd Pinto and his boys lost 2-0 to Murcia U-20 team, 3-0 to Mauritania U-20 team, and held Venezuela to a 0-0 draw. So, when they took on the U-20 team of Argentina, a lot of Indian football fans were sceptical if they could pick up a victory.

Deepak Tangri drew first blood for India in the fourth minute after nodding in Ninthoiganba Meetei's corner. India continued to blaze all their guns before Aniket Jadhav was shown the red card in the 54th minute. The ball fell to Argentina's court and, they attacked in numbers. However, India held their nerves and doubled the lead in the 68th minute thanks to a wonderfully taken Anwar Ali free-kick.