NEW DELHI, 30 May: After a fruitful preparatory tour of Europe, India U-17 men’s national team head coach Bibiano Fernandes on Tuesday announced a 23-member squad for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup in Thailand.
The India U-17 team has been training in Spain and Germany for the last month and a half, and has played preparatory matches against the youth teams of Atletico de Madrid, CD Leganés, Real Madrid CF, Getafe CF, VfB Stuttgart, SSV Reutlingen, FC Augsburg and TSV Schwaben Augsburg, registering five wins, four losses and a draw.
The team will travel to Thailand on June 1, and is set to face Vietnam (June 17), Uzbekistan (June 20) and Japan (June 23) in Group D in Pathum Thani and Bangkok.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure, Bibiano said, “We have had a very fruitful time in Spain and Germany, and the boys got to play a number of top teams in these two countries.
“We also got some good training sessions with the coaches at Atletico Madrid, Stuttgart, and Augsburg, which was a good learning experience for the boys. Now it’s time to focus on the road ahead as we head to Thailand for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup.” (PTI)