India U-17 women's team bested by the Netherlands in WU-16 Open Nordic Tournament

For the past few days, the narrative surrounding the India U-17 women's national team has revolved around shocking revelations of sexual misconduct allegations against assistant coach Alex Ambrose.

However, the Young Tigresses braved the chaos and the apparent trauma of the incident as they went down fighting against the Netherlands on Friday.

In the opening match of the Women's U-16 Open Nordic Tournament, India were handed a 1-5 defeat by the Lionesses at the Strommen Arena, Norway. Thomas Dennerby's side cut down the deficit after going down by two goals early on but lacked cohesion in midfield.

The Netherlands startled the Indian defense in the early minutes and Ilayah Dostmohamed scored in the fifth minute, with Eva Elberink doubling the lead three minutes later.

However, the Young Tigresses pulled a goal back in the 12th minute through Neha. She discovered the opening inside the box and made a near post. Dutch goalkeeper Brenda Badenhop failed to collect a low cross from the right and Neha buried the chance.

In the 32nd minute, India's head coach Thomas Dennerby made the team's first change, substituting Naketa for Sudha Tirkey.

The Girls in Orange, though, continued to pile on India's misery. Veerle Buurman, the captain of the Netherlands, netted a free kick in the 33rd minute to make it 3-1. Meanwhile, Neha attempted to score once more before the break but Brenda stopped her attempt.

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The Netherlands continue to overwhelm India in the second half

Coming out after the break, the Young Tigresses were still down 1-3 and Dennerby made another substitution, bringing on Shailja in place of Babina Devi in the 48th minute. However, minutes later India conceded a penalty and Netherlands skipper Veerle converted from the spot to make it 4-1.

Rejiya Devi and Shelia Devi were brought on in place of Kajol and Shubhangi Singh. However, Dennerby's girls couldn't stop the Dutch side from adding their fifth goal of the night through substitute Mirte Koppen.

Astam's free-kick from the left flank in the 72nd minute was India's final attempt on goal, and it narrowly missed the post. As the referee blew the final whistle, the final score was locked at 5-1.