India national under-20 football team

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This article is about men's football team. For women's football team, see India women's national under-20 football team.

India Under-20
Nickname(s)Blue Colts
AssociationAll India Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachShanmugam Venkatesh
FIFA codeIND
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Burma 1–1 India 
(Malaya; 19 April 1963)
Biggest win
 India 7–0 Nepal   
(Bangkok, Thailand; 23 April 1972)
(Non-verifiable)
 India 6–0 Sri Lanka 
(Kannur, India; 13 July 1996)
 India 7–1 Bhutan 
(Bangalore India; 25 August 1998)
 India 6–0 Bangladesh 
(Qatar; 16 October 2002)
Biggest defeat
 India 0–7 Israel 
(Bangkok, Thailand; 16 April 1972)
 India 0–7 South Korea 
(Qatar; 25 October 2002)
 India 0–7 United Arab Emirates 
(Qatar; 4 October 2015)
Asian Championship
Appearances22 (first in 1963)
Best resultChampions (1974)
South Asian Championship
Appearances3 (first in 2015)
Best resultChampions (2019)

The India national Under-20 football team, also known as India Under-20s or India U20(s), represents India at all under-20 football tournaments. They act as the main feeder team for the India national under-23 football team and the senior India national football team.

This team is for Indian players aged under 19 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year AFC U-19 Championship campaign begins, and as such, some players can remain with the squad until the age of 21. As long as they are eligible, players can play for India at any level, making it possible to play for the U19s first, then the senior side, and again back to playing for the U19s. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (provided the player is eligible).

History[]

As an Asian U19 team, India competes for the Asian Championship, with the finals every even-numbered year, formerly odd-numbered years. There is no Under-19 World Cup, although there is an Under-20 World Cup. This team also participate in the SAFF U-19 Championship which started from 2015 by South Asian Football federation.

1959−1970[]

For the first four seasons of AFC U-19 Championship, from 1959 to 1962 the Indian team did not enter into the tournament though there was no qualification round. India first participated in the AFC U-19 Championships in 1963 but did not move ahead from the group stage. the first best result came at the 1966 edition where the team entered in the quarter finals with 3 wins against Burma, Japan and Singapore and a defeat by china but in the quarter final they lost to Israel by 4−0. In the next edition at 1967 AFC Youth Championship India again entered in the quarter final. First a draw of 1−1 against Israel and then defeating Malaysia by 4−1 but same as 1966 they again defeated in the quarter final, this time by Indonesia by 2−6. In 1968, the team didn't move beyond group stage, and next two edition of 1969 and 1970 India did not enter in the championships.

1971−1979[]

In 1971, they again reached the quarter final for the third time in AFC championships, but the fate was same as again saw a defeat, now against Japan by 0−3. But, after a gap of two more edition, it was 1974 AFC Youth Championship, where India seen the golden moment after becoming champions in AFC Under-19 Championships. First in group stage India defeat both Laos and Burma by 1−0 and a draw against Hong Kong by 2−2. Then entering in the quarter final they defeated Singapore by 1(4)−1(1), thus reached semi-finals where defeating Thailand by 2−1, for the first time India reached the final of the Championship. But the final was a draw against Iran by 2−2 thus jointly awarded both the team as the Champions. In 1975 and 1976 edition India didn't do much well but at 1977 AFC Youth Championship they reached the quarter final but the opponent was Iran, the defending Champion who defeated India by 3−0, thus failed to qualify for the first FIFA World Youth Championship in 1977 which later came to be known as FIFA U-20 World Cup and also failed to qualify at the 1979 edition.

1980−2000, the decline[]

These two decades saw a decline in the performance of the Indian team. Qualification round started from 1980 AFC Youth Championship and India failed to qualify in 6 out of 11 edition of the championships and in rest 5 edition the failed to move beyond the group stage, thus also failed to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup as the finalist were only to be qualified for the competition.

2002−2017 Rise and Fall[]

In 2002, at the AFC U-19 Championship, India reached the quarter final for the 6th time, by the virtue of third-place qualifiers, but defeated heavily by South Korea, where the Korean found the Indian net 7 times. Next two editions they ended their competition in group stages and next 7 editions from 2008 to 2018, India failed to qualify again for the championships and so for the FIFA U20 Worldcup.

In the meanwhile, SAFF started SAFF U-19 Championship from 2015 to develop the youth teams of South Asian countries as they continuously failing to qualify for AFC U-20 championships. In the 2015 inaugural edition, India became runners-up facing a defeat from Nepal through a penalty shoot out. In the next edition in 2017, the tournament was a round robin, where India saw two wins against Bhutan and Maldives and two defeats from Bangladesh and Nepal, thus achieved the third place in the tournament.

2018−Present[]

The AIFF finally acted and opened their eyes to bring out the team from its misery and started various plans and programmes to tackle to present a pathetic situation. One of the most important steps is international exposure to the youth and under 17 teams. India's U-20 team was invited to participate in Cotif Tournament where clubs and national and autonomous teams participate every year since 1984, held at Valencia, Spain. 2018 Cotif was 35th Anniversary of the tournament.[1] Though India lost two consecutive matches against Spanish club Murcia then against Mauritania, they managed a draw against a stronger Latin American side of Venezuela, but on the final group match on 5 August 2018, the Indian side written a piece of history when they defeated the most successful U-20 Worldcup winning nation Argentina. The match was historic in many ways, when Indian defender Deepak Tangri headed a corner kick to the net of Argentine side, it was the first goal against them by any Indian side, then with a second goal by Anwar Ali with a fabulous free kick help India to win the match with a score of 2−1 against the stronger Argentine side, made a history as it is the first time that any Indian team defeated any Argentine side and also any American national team.[2][3][4] Argentina national team manager Scaloni and Argentine great Pablo Aimar praised the young colt's performances and said the future of the team is bright if there is continued perseverance.[5] AIFF called it as one of the "biggest days for Indian Football" as team coach said "This victory will definitely earn Indian football more respect in the world of football. It opens up a window of opportunity to test ourselves against the best in the world on a regular basis".[6]

Just after the Cotif experience, AIFF announced the team was invited to play in a four-nation tournament between under-20 national teams of France, Croatia and Slovenia and two friendlies against Serbia.[7] This was the first time India was playing in a 4-nations tournament in which all the opponents are European nations.[8][9] In the first match the team faced a big defeat against a mightier Croatian team by 0−5.[10] The second match was against Slovenia, where they played very well within 90 minutes but failed to convert various chances and on the last minute of injury time the Slovenian side found the net, match ended in 0−1 defeat.[11] Third match was against France, which India lost by 2−0.[12] In the friendlies against Serbia India saw defeat in both the matches, first by 2−0[13] and second by 3−1 where Rahim Ali managed to find the net once.[14]

Current staff[]

Name Position
India Shanmugam Venkatesh Head Coach
India Mahesh Gawli Assistant Coach
India Yusuf Ansari Goalkeeping Coach
India Vishnu Nair Physio

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 20 December 2021

Eligible for 2022 SAFF U-19 Championship[]

Number Name DOB Club Caps (goals)
Goalkeepers
Aman Kumar Sahani (2004-05-08) 8 May 2004 (age 17) India Hyderabad 7 (0)
Naveen Saini (2003-08-29) 29 August 2003 (age 18) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Santosh Singh (2003-09-30) 30 September 2003 (age 18) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Frevino Fernandes (2003-08-31) 31 August 2003 (age 18) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Defenders
Manish Chaudhary (2003-10-25) 25 October 2003 (age 18) India Bengaluru FC 0 (0)
Sajad Hussain Parray (2003-04-25) 25 April 2003 (age 18) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Evan Thapa (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 19) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Bikash Yumnam (2003-09-06) 6 September 2003 (age 18) India Punjab 5 (0)
Abdul Hannan (2004-09-04) 4 September 2004 (age 17) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Dipu Halder (2003-05-09) 9 May 2003 (age 18) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Praful Kumar (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 19) India Indian Arrows 0 (0)
Midfielders
Lalchhanhima Sailo (2003-03-03) 3 March 2003 (age 18) India Indian Arrows 1 (0)
Lalchhanhima Chawnghlut (2003-02-28) 28 February 2003 (age 18) India Aizawl F.C. 0 (0)
Lalrampana Pautu (2003-09-08) 8 September 2003 (age 18) India SAIL Football Academy 0 (0)
Harsh Shailesh Patre (2003-01-25) 25 January 2003 (age 19) India Churchill Brothers 0 (0)
Advait Sumbly (2003-12-23) 23 December 2003 (age 18) India Tata Football Academy 0 (0)
Rudraansh Singh (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 19) India AIFF Academy 0 (0)
Vibin Mohanan (2003-02-06) 6 February 2003 (age 19) India Kerala Blasters 0 (0)
Pragyan Medhi (2004-01-08) 8 January 2004 (age 18) India DSK Shivajians 0 (0)
(2002-03-20) 20 March 2002 (age 19) India Real Kashmir FC 0 (0)
Gurkirat Singh (2003-07-16) 16 July 2003 (age 18) India Mumbai City 3 (1)
Damaitphang Lyngdoh (2003-10-07) 7 October 2003 (age 18) India Bengaluru 'B' 0 (0)
Forwards
Bekey Oram (2003-12-23) 23 December 2003 (age 18) India Bengaluru 'B' 0 (0)
Thlacheu Vanlalruatfela (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 19) India AIFF Academy 0 (0)
Parthib Sundar Gogoi (2003-01-30) 30 January 2003 (age 19) India Ozone FC 0 (0)
Aniket Bharti (2003-05-10) 10 May 2003 (age 18) Poland Znicz Pruszków 0 (0)
Vishwa Vijay Shinde (2003-11-03) 3 November 2003 (age 18) India FC Kolhapur City 0 (0)
Shubho Paul (2004-03-04) 4 March 2004 (age 17) India Sudeva Delhi 0 (0)
Sridarth Nongmeikapam (2005-04-19) 19 April 2005 (age 16) India Sudeva Delhi 0 (0)
Himanshu Jangra (2004-07-21) 21 July 2004 (age 17) India Delhi FC 0 (0)

Past Squads[]

AFC U-19 Championship squads

Results and fixtures[]

For past match results of the national team, see the team's results page.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2022[]

25 July 2022 2022 SAFF U-19 G.S India  v TBD India
27 July 2022 2022 SAFF U-19 G.S India  v TBD India
September 2022 2023 AFC U-20 Q India  v TBD
September 2022 2023 AFC U-20 Q India  v TBD
September 2022 2023 AFC U-20 Q India  v TBD

Competitive records[]

FIFA U-20 World Cup[]

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Host/Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA
FIFA World Youth Championship
Tunisia 1977
to
Netherlands 2005 		Did not Qualify
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Canada 2007
to
Poland 2019 		Did not Qualify
Total 0/22 0 Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0

AFC U-20 Asian Cup[]

AFC U-19 Championship records
Host/Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Malaysia 1959
to
Thailand 1962		 Did not enter
Malaysia 1963 Group Stage 7th 5 2 1 2 6 5
South Vietnam 1964 Group Stage 6th 3 0 2 1 1 4
Japan 1965 Group Stage 7th 4 1 1 2 3 6
Philippines 1966 Quarter Final 5th 5 3 0 2 9 7
Thailand 1967 Quarter Final 7th 3 1 1 1 7 8
South Korea 1968 Group Stage 11th 3 1 0 2 4 4
Thailand 1969 Did not enter
Philippines 1970
Japan 1971 Quarter Final 6th 4 2 1 1 5 5
Thailand 1972 Group Stage 11th 3 1 0 2 8 11
Iran 1973 Group Stage 10th 3 0 2 1 1 2
Thailand 1974 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 9 6
Kuwait 1975 Group Stage 13th 4 1 1 2 5 6
Thailand 1976 Group Stage 5th 3 1 1 1 4 3
Iran 1977 Quarter Final 5th 3 1 0 2 4 7
Bangladesh 1978 Group Stage 6th 4 1 1 2 7 8
Thailand 1980
to
United Arab Emirates 1985		 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1986 Group Stage 6th 3 0 1 2 2 8
Qatar 1988 Did not enter
Indonesia 1990 Group Stage 6th 3 1 0 2 3 7
United Arab Emirates 1992 Group Stage 8th 3 0 0 3 0 7
Indonesia 1994 Did not enter
South Korea 1996 Group Stage 8th 4 0 1 3 2 6
Thailand 1998 Group Stage 10th 4 0 1 3 3 10
Iran 2000 Did not qualify
Qatar 2002 Quarter Final 8th 4 1 0 3 7 13
Malaysia 2004 Group Stage 13th 3 0 0 3 2 5
India 2006 Group Stage 13th 3 0 1 2 3 7
Saudi Arabia 2008
to
Uzbekistan 2020		 Did not qualify
Total 22/40 1 Title 80 22 16 42 95 145

SAFF U-18 Championship[]

SAFF U-18 Championship record
Host/Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Nepal 2015 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 2 0 6 1
Bhutan 2017 Round Robin 3rd 4 2 0 2 8 7
Nepal 2019 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 9 1
Total 3/3 1 Title 12 7 3 2 23 9
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicates 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.

Other honours[]

  • OFC Youth Development Tournament
    • Champions (1): 2019[15]

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The COTIF lives the presentation of its 35th anniversary". Cotifalcudia. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  2. ^ "History, Beat Argentina 2-1 In COTIF Cup 2018". inuth. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  3. ^ "India's U-20 football side stuns Argentina 2-1". The Hindu. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  4. ^ "India stun Argentina in U-20 COTIF Cup football tourney". TOI. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  5. ^ "AIMAR, SCALONI GREET INDIA U-20 BOYS, PRAISE THEM". AIFF. 9 August 2018.
  6. ^ "10-MAN INDIA SHOCK U-20 ARGENTINA-20 2-1". AIFF. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. ^ "INDIA U-19s TO PLAY BACK-TO-BACK FRIENDLIES AGAINST SERBIA". AIFF. 8 September 2018.
  8. ^ "India U-20 to face France in four-nation tourney". AIFF. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  9. ^ "U-19 National Team to Play Youth Teams of World Champions France and Runners-Up Croatia".
  10. ^ "INDIA U-19 GO DOWN TO CROATIA". AIFF. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. ^ "INDIA U-19 LOSE BY A SOLITARY GOAL TO SLOVENIA". AIFF. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  12. ^ "INDIA GO DOWN TO U-19 YOUTH TEAM OF WORLD CHAMPIONS FRANCE". the-aiff.com. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  13. ^ "India U-19 football team suffers 0-2 loss against Serbia U-19". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Times of india. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  14. ^ "INDIA U-19 SIDE SUFFER 3-1 DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF SERBIA IN FRIENDLY". the-aiff.com. AIFF. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  15. ^ "OFC's Youth Development Tournament 2019 – Men's". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
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