U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers Begin in Ahmedabad:-
The FC U7 Asian Cup qualifiers which start tomorrow. India is in Group D against Iran, Palestine, Lebanon and Chinese Taipei. India is also the host nation. That means India has a home team advantage. All the matches are going to be played in Ahmedabad. And you can watch all the matches for free on FF Plus 1TT application which you can download on your mobile. Now discussing about India’s chances to qualify for the Under 7 Asian Cup.
A Decade of Strong Youth Performances:-
First discuss a little bit about the India‘s last 10 years of Under 7 team. So we all know that after India hosted the FIFA Under 7 World Cup in 2017, all the India Under 7 batches, except last year’s, had qualified for the Under 7 Asian Cup and all of them tried to put up a good performance in the Under 7 Asian Cup. Many times we even came close to qualifying for the Under 7 World Cup on merit, but the base of last year disappointed us and we all know that if we want to see India doing well at the senior level in the FIFA World Cup or Asian Cup in the coming years, then your base should be strong. That means, if your Under 17, Under 20, Under 23 teams regularly qualify for such youth competitions at the international level like AFC and FIFA and challenge themselves there, then we can expect that yes the upcoming generation of players coming out of us can give us a good performance in the FIFA World Cup and FC Asian Cup in the coming years. So from that perspective also, the percentage of under 7 qualifiers increases further. Last year we definitely had to face disappointment. But this time we should not miss this opportunity. Also the Under 17 Asian Cup is being held in your country. So you also have a home advantage. The second thing is that brother, the qualification pathway for your FIFA Under-7 World Cup also goes through the Under-17 Asian Cup.
A Second Chance After Last Year’s Setback:-
So for that too it is very important to qualify for the Under 7 Asian Cup. Now let’s talk about what is the criteria for qualification brother? It is a simple criteria. You have to top your group. That’s it. If India tops its group, it will qualify for the upcoming Under 17 Asian Cup and this should be the bare minimum target for us here and you can say that it is the first step towards the football development. If you have to prepare the senior team at that level, then you will have to strengthen your base. So from that perspective also, this is very very. Now let’s talk about the chances. Is this Under 17 batch the same as last year’s, what are the chances, how are the opponents, let’s talk a little about that sir. This Under 17 batch recently played the Under 17 Championship.
Assessing India’s Current U-17 Squad:-
He won the championship there and after that he played two matches with the Under 17 team of China, in which he lost one match. He won one match. So, I think these people are coming after playing seven competitive matches in total. Apart from that, he also played two-three matches recently after coming to Ahmedabad. And Bibiano Fernandes, the successful Under-7 coach, has again joined the Under-17 team. He was not there last year and because of that our team could not even qualify. So, when will Bibiano Fernandes take our Under 17 team to the Asian Games again, it will be a challenge for him too. To be honest, this batch does not show as much promise as we saw in the previous matches. In the matches we saw in China and particularly in the championship matches, we did not see that kind of convincing performance that you would expect that yes, these guys will definitely qualify for the Under 17 National Cup. That thing about confidence is not visible.
The Return of Bibiano Fernandes:-
Because they struggled against teams like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and the kind of performance that you wanted to win a clear championship with dominance was not seen there. But let’s hope the team has rectified things after that. Because your group is a tough group. Iran is a very very strong team and in that regard. Apart from that, here Palestine, Lebanon, see, all these countries are physical countries. In this, you are going to get a lot of physical challenge. Chinese type pay can also challenge you technically. So it’s not gonna be easy. Even if you are playing at home, if you slip up at even one place, your chance may be lost. Because you have to top the group. One good thing for us is that our first match is against Palestine.
A Tough Group with Physical and Technical Challenges:-
Then think Chinese type pay Lebanon and last in front of Iran. If you look at this group, the one that can give us the biggest competition is obviously Iran. The second part is that brother, here when you look at the teams at the Under 17 level, particularly in Asia, then except for three-four countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, leave them aside. So, the other countries which have under 17 teams, more on that you can know that you will not see that big difference in the quality level because the bigger difference starts to reflect from 17 to 21, 23 and senior level. So from that point of view, it is not that we will have no chance against Iran. It will definitely remain. Iran will also have a chance and the other teams will also have a chance.
Competitive Balance at U-17 Level:-
But our players will have to play according to their quality and their ability. Only then will it become possible. Otherwise there is no chance. So very different under 17 qualifiers and let’s hope so that last year what we didn’t qualify for was one of a kind of a you can say that thing. Because the Under 17s regularly qualify for the Under 17 Asian Cup. After that it is very important to qualify for the Under 17 FIFA World Cup. If you want to develop as a footballing nation. And after that you can do Under 20 then Under 23 then senior team that is the ladder you have to climb if you want to play FIFA World Cup as simple as that so this Under 17 team and let’s hope that they qualify for the Under 17 Asian Cup .