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What's the story?
The Indian U16 football team’s run at the WAFF u16 championship concluded recently and even though the team might not have won the competition, there was a personal accolade for one of the youngsters.
India U16 skipper Vikram Pratap Singh has been rewarded as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the competition.
In case you didn't know...
The blue colts were in Jordan, participating in the fifth West Asian Football Federation WAFF U-16 Boys Championship. The exposure tour had been arranged by AIFF in preparation for the AFC U-16 Championship in September. India locked horns with defending Asian champions Iraq, a strong Japanese side, hosts Jordan, and Yemen.
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The heart of the matter
Bibiano Fernandes’ boys were really impressive in this tournament as they notched up three wins and three clean sheets in four of their matches with their only defeat coming in a narrow 2-1 loss against Japan. India started off their campaign with a resounding 4-0 win over hosts Jordan where the Indian captain Vikram scored a hattrick. He followed that up with a penalty goal against Japan in the next game. Vikram was a source of constant threat up front and his presence made the defenders uneasy throughout the tournament.
This is Vikram’s second personal milestone in as many months as he was awarded the top scorer in the four-nation tournament in China last month. Vikram was the target man for the team’s forays forward and that reflects in the statistics. This was a deserving recognition for the Indian youngster.
What's next?
The WAFF U16 Championships was a preparatory tournament ahead of the forthcoming AFC U-16 Championship in Malaysia, where the top 16 Asian teams will compete. The Blue colts have been grouped with Iran, Vietnam, and Indonesia in Group C. The four semi-finalists will qualify directly to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2019.
After great performances in the recently concluded exposure tours, does the India U16 team have what it takes to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup? Do share your opinion in the comments section below.
