India face Thailand in four-nation youth football tournament tomorrow

NEW DELHI: After losing narrowly to China, the Indian U-16 football team will now lock horns with Thailand tomorrow in the four-nation Hua Shan Cup CFA International Youth Football Tournament in Wei Nan City, China.

The invitational four-nation tournament is a part of an exposure tour for the young Indian team ahead of the upcoming AFC U-16 Finals slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur in September.

Yesterday, India U-16 team went down fighting by a solitary goal to U-17 China national team and head coach Bibiano Fernandes said that the boys have been "consistently creating chances" in every match.

"We have been consistently creating chances in every game we have played so far, even against top opposition," Fernandes said.

"The match against China was no different as we had our chances and if we could convert those chances, it would've been a different result at the end of the day," he maintained.

The Indian boys have been on a series of exposure tours, all facilitated by the AIFF and the SAI and headed to Wei Nan on the back of two consecutive triumphs in invitational tournaments in Serbia and Hong Kong earlier.

Bibiano said the match against mighty China was "a learning experience for the U-16 boys" and gave "ample proof that the boys are improving both mentally and physically".

The unity and togetherness within the team is our core strength.

The boys always have stood by each other helping one other to collectively improve as a team and move forward, the coach said.