Kolkata: The Indian U-17 team has justified the hype about the U-17 FIFA World Cup to be held later this year in India as they earned a confidence boosting 2-0 win over their Italian counterparts on Friday in Arizo, Italy.
This huge win just goes to show the character and resolve that the team has, who has been working hard since 2013.
The Indian colts dominated throughout the match and strikes from Abhijit Sarkar (31′) and Rahul Praveen (80′) in each half sealed a huge win over the, ‘Azurri’.
India attacked right from the outset as in the eighth minute, Komal Thatal nearly gave India the lead after the ball went agonizingly past the Italian goalkeeper.
Aniket, in the 13th minute created another chance but this time it was easily saved by the Italian goalie.
The scoring finally opened for India in the 31st minute when Abhijit Sarkar’s cross deflected off the Italian defense and ended up inside the net.
The visitors looked to build on this 1-0 lead as in the 59th minute, Aniket made a mess of a one versus one chance against the Italian goalkeeper and despite having him rounded, he failed to have his name put on the scoring sheets.
In the 75th minute, there was another opportunity for India to double their lead after Rahul missed to tap the ball into the net from a very close distance after the Italian goalkeeper had made a strange save.
Finally, all their efforts to secure their victory bore fruit in the 80th minute after Rahul shot one into the net from inside the box. The win would definitely boost the morale of the Indian U-17 team and would be no less than a good preparation ahead of the U-17 FIFA World Cup in India.
The Indians are pretty much pumped up about the marquee football event to be held this year and such wins only justifies the buzz and the hype about the hosts and the tournament.
The competition begins on the sixth of October this year.
(With inputs from PTI)