AFC U-17 Asian Cup: India wins 3-0 against Kuwait in qualifiers

Going into the tie, Bibiano Fernandes and co were cautiously optimistic, but all trepidation was removed once the U-17 boys in blue started playing their free-flowing football on 6th October and scored three against Kuwait at the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi stadium in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

It was Thanglalsoun Gangte's brace and Korou Singh's second-half strike which ensured India collected three more points in their quest to qualify for the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup. This win comes off a convincing 5-0 victory against Maldives in their group opener.

After a strong start to the game, India took the lead at the 16th minute through Gangte. A brilliant cross field was fed into the right flank from the defense. Korou Singh took the ball in his stride and found Gangte inside the box who slotted the ball in the net.

The goalie Sahil was on his sparkling best as he came out as the superior one in a lot of one-on-one situations and made some important saves to keep his side in the game.

At the 66th minute, skipper Vanlalpeka Guite had loads of space in front of him on the left flank after being fed a through ball. He then delivered a grounded cross into the box which found Korou who thumped the ball in the back of the net to double their lead.

Just five minutes later, a similar play found Gangte goal-bound who toe-poked the ball inside the net to score his second of the match, and India's third.

Next up, India will face Myanmar on 7th October, Friday at 8:45 pm IST.