India national under-23 football team
Nickname(s) | Blue Tigers | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | AIFF | ||
Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
Sub-confederation | SAFF (South Asia) | ||
Head coach | Igor Štimac | ||
Captain | Suresh Singh Wangjam | ||
FIFA code | IND | ||
| |||
First international | |||
India 1–1 Oman (Hyderabad, India; 4 August 1991) | |||
Biggest win | |||
India 5–1 Pakistan (Chittagong, Bangladesh; 2 February 2010) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Japan 5–0 India (Guangzhou, China; 16 November 2010) India 0–5 United Arab Emirates (Incheon, South Korea; 15 September 2014) | |||
Olympic Games | |||
Appearances | None | ||
AFC U-23 Asian Cup | |||
Appearances | None | ||
Asian Games | |||
Appearances | 4 (first in 2002) | ||
Best result | Round of 16 (2010) |
The India national under-23 football team represents India in international under-23 football and is controlled by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the team is eligible to compete in the Summer Olympic Games, the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, and the Asian Games, subject to qualification.
Since only allowing under-23 sides to compete in the Olympic Games in 1992, India have never qualified for the summer games. The under-23 side have also never participated in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup while at best only making it to the round of 16 in the Asian Games.
History[]
Asian Games[]
2002 Busan Games[]
The under-23 side participated in their first ever tournament during the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. They were put into a group with China, Turkmenistan, and Bangladesh. Their first match was against Bangladesh. India won 3–0 through a brace from future senior captain Baichung Bhutia and a strike from Renedy Singh. India played their second match two days later against Turkmenistan. They won 3–1. Bhutia again scored a brace while Abhishek Yadav scored the third goal as India ran out 3–1 winners. Unfortunately, in their final match against China, India could not find the net as they fell 2–0 and thus were knocked-out of the Asian Games.[1]
2006 Doha Games[]
During the 2006 Asian Games India were placed in a group with Iran, Hong Kong, and Maldives. In their first match against Hong Kong, India drew 1–1 with Pappachen Pradeep scoring the lone Indian goal. In their second match, India faced off against Maldives and won 2–1. Irungbam Surkumar Singh and Subhas Sumbhu Chakrobarty were the scorers for India that night. Finally, in their last match against Iran, India once again lost 2–0 and thus were once again knocked-out of the Asian Games.[2]
2010 Guangzhou Games[]
During the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, India were placed in a group with Qatar, Kuwait Athletes, and Singapore. India lost their first match against the Kuwait Athletes 2–0 and then lost their second match against Qatar 2–1 with the lone India goal coming from Dharmaraj Ravanan. India went on to win their final match of the group stage against Singapore 4–1. Four players scored each goal, Jewel Raja, Balwant Singh, Jibon Singh, and Manish Maithani. The victory managed to help India finish in third-place which then helped India become the best third-place team out of all the other third-placed teams and thus qualified them for the Round of 16.
In the Round of 16, India took on powerhouse Japan at the Huangpu Sports Center. India went on to lose the match 5–0 with Kensuke Nagai scoring a brace and Ryohei Yamazaki, Kazuya Yamamura, and Kota Mizunuma scoring a goal each.[3]
2014 Incheon Games[]
For the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, India were placed in Group G with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. In their first match against the United Arab Emirates, India went down 5–0. Seven days later, India were defeated by Jordan 2–0 to end their Asian Games participation.[4]
Other tournaments[]
2009 SAFF Championship[]
Before the 2009 SAFF Championship in Bangladesh, it was announced that India would send the under-23 side to the tournament.[5] India were placed in Group A with Afghanistan, Maldives, and Nepal. In their first match against Afghanistan, India won 1–0 through Jeje Lalpekhlua.[6] In their next match against Nepal, a Sushil Kumar Singh goal was the difference as India won again 1–0.[7] Despite losing the last match of the group stage to Maldives 2–0 India were still through to the semi-finals.
India defeated Bangladesh in the semi-finals 1–0 through Sushil Kumar Singh.[8] Finally, in the final against Maldives, India won through penalties 3–1 after finishing extra-time with the score at 0–0 to win the championship.[9]
Results and fixtures[]
For past match results of the national team, see the team's results page.
2019[]
11 March 2019 International friendly | India | 0−1 | Qatar | Doha, Qatar |
21:30 IST | Report (AFC) | Ali Surag | Stadium: Aspire Academy Ground |
22 March 2019 2020 AFC U23 Q | India | 0–3 | Uzbekistan | Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
17:30 IST | Report (AFC) Report (AIFF) |
|
Stadium: Pakhtakor Central Stadium Attendance: 2,452 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) |
24 March 2019 2020 AFC U23 Q | Tajikistan | 2–0 | India | Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
15:30 IST |
|
Report (AFC) Report (AIFF) |
Stadium: Pakhtakor Central Stadium Attendance: 282 Referee: Ho Wai Sing (Hong Kong) |
2021[]
24 October 2021 2022 AFC U23 Q | Oman | 1–2 | India | Fujairah, United Arab Emirates |
20:30 UTC+4 |
|
Report (AFC) Report (AIFF) |
Stadium: Fujairah Stadium Attendance: 25 Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran) |
27 October 2021 2022 AFC U23 Q | India | 0–1 | United Arab Emirates | Fujairah, United Arab Emirates |
20:30 UTC+4 | Report |
|
Stadium: Fujairah Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Fu Ming (China) |
30 October 2021 2022 AFC U23 Q | India | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) | Kyrgyzstan | Fujairah, United Arab Emirates |
20:30 UTC+4 | Report | Stadium: Fujairah Stadium Referee: Javiz Mohamed (Maldives) | ||
Penalties | ||||
|
Coaching staff[]
The current coaching staff of the team are:[10]
Position | Name |
---|---|
Head Coach | Igor Stimac |
Assistant Coach | Shanmugam Venkatesh |
Fitness Coach | Luka Radman |
Goalkeeping Coach | Tomislav Rogić |
Players[]
Current squad[]
The following 23 players were called up for 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification matches which are scheduled to be played between 24 and 30 October 2021. Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete in the tournament.[11]
Caps and goals are updated as of 30 October 2021.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Dheeraj Moirangthem | 4 July 2000 | 6 | 0 | Goa |
13 | GK | Mohammad Nawaz | 21 January 2000 | 0 | 0 | Mumbai City |
23 | GK | Prabhsukhan Singh | 2 January 2001 | 0 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
2 | DF | Ashish Rai | 2 February 1999 | 4 | 0 | Hyderabad |
3 | DF | Sumit Rathi | 26 August 2001 | 2 | 0 | ATK Mohun Bagan |
4 | DF | Akash Mishra | 27 November 2001 | 3 | 0 | Hyderabad |
5 | DF | Narender Gahlot | 24 April 2001 | 4 | 0 | Jamshedpur |
16 | DF | Ruivah Hormipam | 25 January 2001 | 1 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
20 | DF | Alex Saji | 9 May 2000 | 0 | 0 | Gokulam Kerala |
22 | DF | Deepak Tangri | 1 February 1999 | 3 | 0 | ATK Mohun Bagan |
6 | MF | Amarjit Kiyam | 6 January 2001 | 3 | 0 | East Bengal |
7 | MF | Apuia | 17 October 2000 | 3 | 0 | Mumbai City |
8 | MF | Suresh Wangjam (Captain) | 7 August 2000 | 3 | 0 | Bengaluru |
10 | MF | Rahul KP | 16 March 2000 | 5 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
14 | MF | Princeton Rebello | 5 March 1999 | 1 | 0 | Goa |
15 | MF | Jeakson Thounaojam | 21 June 2001 | 3 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
18 | MF | Komal Thatal | 18 September 2000 | 3 | 0 | Jamshedpur |
19 | MF | Bryce Miranda | 23 September 1999 | 2 | 0 | Churchill Brothers |
21 | MF | Nikhil Raj | 12 January 2001 | 0 | 0 | Odisha |
9 | FW | Rahim Ali | 21 April 2000 | 6 | 1 | Chennaiyin |
11 | FW | Aniket Jadhav | 13 July 2000 | 2 | 0 | Hyderabad |
12 | FW | Vikram Pratap | 16 January 2002 | 3 | 1 | Mumbai City |
17 | FW | Rohit Danu | 10 July 2002 | 2 | 0 | Hyderabad |
Past squads[]
Asian Games[]
Competitive record[]
Summer Olympics[]
From 1908 to 1988, football at the Olympics was played by senior national teams.[12] and between these years India national football team competed at all Games from 1948 to 1960.[12] From 1992, FIFA allowed only U-23 national teams to play the tournament at the Olympics.[12] Though U-23 players were allowed, the qualifying matches of 1992 Olympics to 2012 Olympics were played by the Senior national team of India but failed to qualify to the Olympics finals from 1992 to 2012. AFC started AFC U-23 Championship from 2013 which is now acted as the qualifying tournament for the Olympics for the Asian countries, where top three teams are allowed entry to Olympic finals.[13] India is yet to qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship and thus also at Olympics since then.
Summer Olympics record | Summer Olympics qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Host/Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | ||
1908−1988 | See India national football team | See India national football team | ||||||||||||||
1992 | Did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||
1996 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | ||||||||||
2000 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||
2004 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
2008 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 | ||||||||||
2012 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||
Since 2016, AFC U-23 Championship acted as the AFC qualifier (top 3 finishers) | ||||||||||||||||
2016 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify 2016 AFC U-23 | ||||||||||||||
2020 | Did not qualify 2020 AFC U-23 | |||||||||||||||
2024 | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
Total | 0 / 8 | 0 Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 37 |
AFC U-23 Asian Cup[]
AFC U-23 Asian Cup was initially set to be held as AFC U-22 Championships in 2013 and its qualification matches in 2012, but the finals tournament was postponed to be played in January 2014.[14][15] Till now, three championships held, in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. However, India failed to qualify to any of the championships.[16]
AFC U-23 Asian Cup (erstwhile AFC U-22 Championship and AFC U-23 Championship) record | AFC U-23 qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | |
2014 | Did not qualify | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 10 | ||||||||
2016 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
2018 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||
2022 | TBD | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
Totals | 0/4 | 0 Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 27 |
Asian Games[]
Asian Games record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA |
Senior National Team | ||||||||
1951 – 1998 | See India national football team | |||||||
Under-23 National Team | ||||||||
2002 | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
2006 | Group stage | 14th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
2010 | Round of 16 | 14th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
2014 | Group stage | 26th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
2018 | Did not participate | |||||||
Total | 4/5 | 0 Titles | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
South Asian Games[]
South Asian Games record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA |
Senior National Team | ||||||||
1984 – 1999 | See India national football team | |||||||
Under-23 National Team | ||||||||
2004 | Silver | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
2006 | Semifinals | 4th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
2010 | Semifinals | 4th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
2016 | Silver | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
2019 | Did not participate | |||||||
Total | 4/5 | 0 Titles | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 23 | 15 |
Honours[]
See also[]
- Football in India
- India national football team
- India women's national football team
- India national under-20 football team
- India national under-17 football team
References[]
- ^ "Asian Games 2002 (South Korea)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Asian Games 2006 (Qatar)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "2010 Asian Games". Olympic Association of Asia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "2014 Asian Games". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "SAFF Cup Comment: India U-23, Not India, Signal Better Times For Indian Football". Goal.com. 15 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "India 1 - 0 Afghanistan: Jeje's winner". Maldives Soccer. 5 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "India 1 – 0 Nepal: India into semi final". Maldives Soccer. 7 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "Bangladesh 0 - 1 India: Hosts crash out". Maldives Soccer. 11 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "Maldives 0 - 0 India: India wins on penalties". Maldives Soccer. 13 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "U23 Men". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022 competition regulations". AFC.
- ^ a b c "FIFA FACTS of Olympics" (PDF). www.fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016 – Football" (PDF). Rio 2016 Official Website. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ "Call to improve AFC competitions". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ "Competitions Committee takes key decisions". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ "India thump Turkmenistan in AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers". hindustantimes.com. Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ "India beat Vietnam to win LG Cup football". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
External links[]
- India national under-23 football team
- Asian national under-23 association football teams
- India at the Summer Olympics
- National youth sports teams of India