National Under-19 football head coach Shuvendu Panda on Friday announced a 23-member Indian squad for the SAFF U-19 Championship, to commence in Kathmandu on September 21. The squad flew to Saudi Arabia for an exposure-cum-training camp early on Friday from where they will travel to the Nepal capital on September 19.
India has been drawn in Group B along with Bhutan and Bangladesh, while Group A comprises the hosts, Maldives and Pakistan. After a single round-robin group stage, the top two teams from both groups will move into the semifinals. The final will be played on September 30.
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Last year, India hosted the event in the Under-20 category and emerged champions, trumping Bangladesh 5-2. The only other time the tournament was held in the U-19 category was in 2015 in Nepal, where the hosts defeated India on penalties after regulation time ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Indian squad:
Goalkeepers: Lionel Daryl Rymmei, Divyaj Dhaval Thakkar and Manjot Singh Parmar.
Defenders: Thomas Kanamoottil Cherian, Jahangir Ahmad Shagoo, Vijay Marandi, A Siba Prasad, Manabir Basumatary, Surajkumar Singh Ngangbam and Ricky Meetei.
Midfielders: Manglentheng Kipgen, Ishaan Shishodia, Arjun Singh Oinam, Yash Chikro, Ebindas Yesudasan, Raja Harijan and Thumsol Tongsin.
Forwards: Gwgwmsar Goyary, Sahil Khurshid, Linky Meitei Chabungbam, Kelvin Singh Taorem, Naoba Meitei and Dinesh Singh Soubam.
Editors pick
