U-16 Asian Championship: India face China for a possible spot in last eight

Tehran - India take on China in their last Group D match on Thursday and, as things stand at the moment, a win will take India to four points and a possible spot in the last eight of the U-16 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Championship.

India have one point from two matches and unless Syria (two points) beat Uzbekistan (four points), the Indians will progress into the quarters. China stay on two points from two matches.

“China come into the match against us with two very good performances (draws against Syria and Uzbekistan). I have watched them play and they are a good team who have some very good individual players,” said coach Colm Toal.

His rival Chinese counterpart Su Mozahen said: “Our goal is to qualify for the U-17 World Cup and play good football in the process. We are here with a purpose like all other Chinese teams in any sport.”

“It will be a big test for us as it would be for any Indian team against any Chinese team. I hope the boys have enough left in the tank and be able to raise their performance in the last Group League match,” Toal adds.

“It’s creditable for us to be in this situation and we have a realistic chance of making it to the quarterfinals.”

The Indian U-16 team will be fighting for the next 90 minutes – a match away from the quarterfinal spot in the AFC U-16 Championship and two matches away from a possible spot in the U-17 World Cup.