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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 U-20
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Blue Colts
AssociationAll India Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachRanjan Chaudhuri
FIFA codeIND
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Burma 1–1 India 
(Malaya; 19 April 1963)[1]
Biggest win
 India 8–0 Nepal   
(Bhubaneshwar, India; 31 July 2022)[2]
Biggest defeat
 India 0–7 Israel [3]
(Bangkok, Thailand; 16 April 1972)
 India 0–7 South Korea 
(Qatar; 25 October 2002)[4]
 India 0–7 United Arab Emirates 
(Qatar; 4 October 2015)[5]
Asian Cup
Appearances22 (first in 1963)
Best resultChampions (1974)
OFC Youth Development Tournament
Appearances1 (first in 2019)
Best resultChampions (2019)
SAFF Championship
Appearances5 (first in 2015)
Best resultChampions (2019, 2022, 2023)
Medal record
Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 1974 Thailand
OFC Youth Development Tournament
Gold medal – first place 2019 Vanuatu
SAFF Championship
Gold medal – first place 2023 Nepal
Gold medal – first place 2019 Nepal
Gold medal – first place 2022 India
Silver medal – second place 2015 Nepal
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Bhutan

The India national under-20 football team represents India at all international under-20 tournaments.[6] They act as the main feeder team for the India U-23 and the senior Indian 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.

History

[edit]

The team competes for the Asian Championship, with the finals every even-numbered year, formerly odd-numbered years. It is also eligible to participate in the SAFF U-20 Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup held every two years.

Beginning from 2024-25 I-league season, the team is also eligible to participate in the I-league, the second division of Indian Football League System. [7]

Previously, the team has participated in the I-league, then first and now second division of Indian football league system, since 2010 under the names of AIFF XI, Palian Arrows and Indian Arrows. The team was disbanded in 2021 and revived as India U-20 in 2024.[8]

1959−1970

[edit]

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.[9] 1964 is where the first Kabui player, Basanta Kumar Kabui represented Manipur in an International event.[10][11][12]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

1971−1979

[edit]

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.[16][17][18] 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.[19]

1980−2000, the decline

[edit]

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.[20]

2002−2017, rise and fall

[edit]

In the 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.[21] 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.[22]

2018−present

[edit]

The AIFF finally acted with the 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.[23] Though India lost two consecutive matches against Spanish club Murcia then against Mauritania, they managed a 0–0 draw[24] 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 Argentina side or any American national team.[25][26][27] 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.[28] 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".[29]

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.[30] This was the first time India was playing in a 4-nations tournament in which all the opponents are European nations.[31][32] In the first match the team faced a big defeat against a mightier Croatian team by 0−5.[33] 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.[34] Third match was against France, which India lost by 2−0.[35] In the friendlies against Serbia India saw defeat in both the matches, first by 2−0[36] and second by 3−1 where Rahim Ali managed to find the net once.[37]

At the South Asian level India won their first U-20 SAFF title in 2019. They defeated Bangladesh 2–1 in the final.[38] Team India also won the inaugural OFC Youth Development Tournament in 2019, after beating Tahiti 2–0.[39] India defended their SAFF title in 2022 by defeating Bangladesh again in the final, this time by an even bigger score of 5–2.[40] It was also in the same tournament that the team recorded their biggest ever victory when they dismantled Nepal 8–0.[41][42] India won their third title in a row by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the SAFF championship in 2023 by a margin of 3–0.[43][44]

Current staff

[edit]
Position Name
Head coach India Ranjan Chaudhuri
Assistant coach India Remus Gomes
Physiotherapist India Sayed Anwar
Goalkeeping coach India Sandip Nandy
Analyst India Nirav Shetye
Team manager India Savio D'Costa
Media officer India Soumo Ghosh

Players

[edit]

Current squad

[edit]

The following 23 players were called up for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification.[45]

Caps and goals are correct as of 29 September 2024, after the match against  Laos.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Sahil Poonia (2006-03-08) 8 March 2006 (age 18) 2 0 India Bengaluru
13 1GK Priyansh Dubey (2006-07-22) 22 July 2006 (age 18) 4 0 India RFYC
23 1GK Divyaj Dhaval Thakkar (2005-03-12) 12 March 2005 (age 19) 0 0 India Alchemy FA
2 2DF Lambalmayum Hemba Meetei (2006-08-08) 8 August 2006 (age 18) 3 0 India SAI Trivandrum
3 2DF Manabir Basumatary (2005-03-17) 17 March 2005 (age 19) 0 0 India Kerala United
4 2DF Thomas Kanamoottil Cherian (Captain) (2005-06-01) 1 June 2005 (age 19) 6 0 India Kerala Blasters
5 2DF Pramveer (2007-06-20) 20 June 2007 (age 17) 5 0 India Punjab
12 2DF Malemngamba Singh Thokchom (2007-10-15) 15 October 2007 (age 17) 6 0 India Bengaluru
18 2DF Surajkumar Singh Ngangbam (2006-06-28) 28 June 2006 (age 18) 3 0 India Bengaluru
20 2DF Sonam Tsewang Lhokham (2006-11-28) 28 November 2006 (age 17) 0 0 India Jamshedpur
21 2DF Dhanajit Ashangbam (2006-12-27) 27 December 2006 (age 17) 0 0 India Delhi
6 3MF Manjot Singh Dhami (2006-10-25) 25 October 2006 (age 18) 5 0 India Bengaluru
8 3MF Ishaan Shishodia (2005-08-31) 31 August 2005 (age 19) 0 0 India Mumbai City
10 3MF Ebindas Yesudasan (2005-04-19) 19 April 2005 (age 19) 6 0 India Kerala Blasters
17 3MF Manglenthang Kipgen (2005-06-03) 3 June 2005 (age 19) 6 3 India Punjab
19 3MF Akash Tirkey (2006-09-19) 19 September 2006 (age 18) 4 0 India Delhi
22 3MF Vanlalpeka Guite (2006-10-23) 23 October 2006 (age 18) 3 0 India East Bengal
7 4FW Korou Singh Thingujam (2006-12-03) 3 December 2006 (age 17) 6 1 India Kerala Blasters
9 4FW Gwgwmsar Goyary (2005-05-31) 31 May 2005 (age 19) 6 1 India Delhi
11 4FW Monirul Molla (2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 (age 19) 4 1 India Bengaluru
14 4FW Naoba Meitei Pangambam (2005-03-01) 1 March 2005 (age 19) 5 0 India Rajasthan United
15 4FW Kelvin Singh Taorem (2005-11-22) 22 November 2005 (age 19) 6 1 India Bengaluru
16 4FW Thanglalsoun Gangte (2006-04-22) 22 April 2006 (age 18) 3 1 India Chennaiyin

Recent callups

[edit]

The following footballers were part of national selection in the past twelve months, but are not part of the current call-up.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Lionel Daryl Rymmei (2005-08-15) 15 August 2005 (age 19) 0 0 India Goa vs  Bangladesh, August 2024
DF Ricky Meetei Haobam (2006-08-30) 30 August 2006 (age 18) 3 1 India Bengaluru vs  Bangladesh, August 2024
MF Gurnaj Singh Grewal (2007-01-09) 9 January 2007 (age 17) 2 0 India East Bengal vs  Bangladesh, August 2024

Results and fixtures

[edit]

For past match results of the under-20 team, see the results in Indian football seasons.

Matches in the last 12 months, and future scheduled matches
  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

India U-19 fixtures

[edit]

2024

[edit]
19 August 2024 (2024-08-19) 2024 SAFF U-20 GS Bhutan  0–1  India Lalitpur, Nepal
14:45 IST Gyeltshen Red card 69' Report
Stadium: ANFA Complex
Attendance: 223
Referee: Shyamlal Danuwar (Nepal)
23 August 2024 (2024-08-23) 2024 SAFF U-20 GS India  1–0  Maldives Lalitpur, Nepal
14:45 IST Kipgen 90+5' Report Stadium: ANFA Complex
Attendance: 440
Referee: Mohamed Jafran Athambawa (Sri Lanka)
26 August 2024 (2024-08-26) 2024 SAFF U-20 SF India  1–1
(3–4 p)		  Bangladesh Lalitpur, Nepal
14:45 IST Meetei 75' Report
Stadium: ANFA Complex
Attendance: 3,243
Referee: Shyamlal Danuwar (Nepal)
Penalties
25 September 2024 (2024-09-25) 2025 AFC U-20 ACQ Mongolia  1–4  India Vientiane, Laos
14:30 IST
Report
Stadium: New Laos National Stadium
Attendance: 132
Referee: Wong Wai Lun (Hong Kong)
27 September 2024 (2024-09-27) 2025 AFC U-20 ACQ India  0–1  Iran Vientiane, Laos
14:30 IST Report Mazraeh 88' Stadium: New Laos National Stadium
Attendance: 142
Referee: Asker Nadjafaliyev (Uzbekistan)
29 September 2024 (2024-09-29) 2025 AFC U-20 ACQ India  2–0  Laos Vientiane, Laos
17:30 IST
Report Stadium: New Laos National Stadium
Attendance: 3,323
Referee: Shukri Al-Hunfush (Saudi Arabia)

Competitive records

[edit]

FIFA U-20 World Cup

[edit]
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
Chile 2025 		Did not qualify
Total 0/23 0 titles 0 0 0 0 0 0

AFC U-20 Asian Cup

[edit]

AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualification

[edit]

SAFF U-18/U-19/U-20 Championship

[edit]

OFC Youth Development Tournament

[edit]
*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.

Overall competitive records

[edit]
As of 29 September 2024 (excluding friendlies & minor tournaments)
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD Win%
FIFA U-20 World Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
AFC U-20 Asian Cup 80 20 18 42 95 145 −50 025.00
AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualification 60 25 9 26 93 89 +4 041.67
SAFF U-20 Championship 24 16 5 3 54 16 +38 066.67
OFC Youth Development Tournament 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 100.00
Total 167 64 32 71 249 251 −2 038.32

Other honours

[edit]

See also

[edit]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1963". Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  2. ^ "M8_ Nep v Ind_Match Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Asian Youth Championship 1972". Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Asian U-20 Championship 2002". Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 2016". Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  6. ^ TEAM SPORTSTAR, 21:34 IST (5 August 2022). "India beats Bangladesh to clinch U20 SAFF Championship". sportstar.thehindu.com. Bhubaneswar, Odisha: Sportstar. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "India U-20 Football Team to be Fielded in the I-League For 2024-25 Season, Says AIFF: Report". News18. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  8. ^ "No Longer Part of I-League, Indian Arrows Players to Not Play Football Till January". News18. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1963". Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1964". Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  11. ^ Kapadia, Novy (27 September 2017). Barefoot to Boots: The many lives of Indian football. ISBN 978-93-86815-65-1. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  12. ^ "RK Bijoy: Captain of Manipur Police Football Team during 1960s and 70s". Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1966". Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1967". Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1968". Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  16. ^ Morrison, Neil. "Asian U-19 Championship 1974". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Down the memory lane: India's AFC Youth Championship triumph in 1974". Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  18. ^ "From gate-crashers to joint winners: India's journey at the Asian Youth Championship Bangkok 1974". Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1977". Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Asian U-19 Championship 1980". Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Asian U-20 Championship 2002". Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  22. ^ "SAFF U-20 Championship winners list: Know history and winners of every edition". 6 April 2022. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  23. ^ "The COTIF lives the presentation of its 35th anniversary". Cotifalcudia. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  24. ^ "India U20 0-0 Venezuela U20". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  25. ^ "History, Beat Argentina 2-1 In COTIF Cup 2018". inuth. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  26. ^ "India's U-20 football side stuns Argentina 2-1". The Hindu. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  27. ^ "India stun Argentina in U-20 COTIF Cup football tourney". TOI. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  28. ^ "AIMAR, SCALONI GREET INDIA U-20 BOYS, PRAISE THEM". AIFF. 9 August 2018. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  29. ^ "10-MAN INDIA SHOCK U-20 ARGENTINA-20 2-1". AIFF. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  30. ^ "INDIA U-19s TO PLAY BACK-TO-BACK FRIENDLIES AGAINST SERBIA". AIFF. 8 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  31. ^ "India U-20 to face France in four-nation tourney". AIFF. 8 August 2018. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  32. ^ "U-19 National Team to Play Youth Teams of World Champions France and Runners-Up Croatia". Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  33. ^ "INDIA U-19 GO DOWN TO CROATIA". AIFF. 5 September 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  34. ^ "INDIA U-19 LOSE BY A SOLITARY GOAL TO SLOVENIA". AIFF. 7 September 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  35. ^ "INDIA GO DOWN TO U-19 YOUTH TEAM OF WORLD CHAMPIONS FRANCE". the-aiff.com. 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  36. ^ "India U-19 football team suffers 0-2 loss against Serbia U-19". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Times of india. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  37. ^ "INDIA U-19 SIDE SUFFER 3-1 DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF SERBIA IN FRIENDLY". the-aiff.com. AIFF. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  38. ^ "INDIA U-18 CONQUER MAIDEN SAFF TITLE". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  39. ^ "India win first Youth Development Tournament". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  40. ^ "SAFF U20 Championship 2022: Gurkirat Singh hat-trick powers Indian football team to title". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  41. ^ "India U20 pump 8 goals past Nepal in SAFF Championship". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  42. ^ "India humiliate Nepal 8-0 in SAFF U-20 Championship". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  43. ^ "India ready to dismantle counter-attacking Pakistan in SAFF U19 Final". Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  44. ^ "India hammer Pakistan 3-0 to emerge SAFF U-19 champions". Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  45. ^ "India squad for 2025 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Laos announced". All India Football Federation. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  46. ^ "Asian Youth Championship 1992". Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  47. ^ "Asian Youth Championship 1998". Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  48. ^ "OFC's Youth Development Tournament 2019 – Men's". Oceania Football Confederation. August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  49. ^ Hoodh Ali; Mikael Jönsson; Hans Schöggl (1997). "Maldives — List of Cup Winners: POMIS Cup (President of Maldives Invitational Soccer Cup)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  50. ^ Goa-India win the Lusofonia Games football tournament blog.cpdfootball.de. Retrieved 7 September 2021
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Asian Champions
1974 (first title) 		Succeeded by
1975 Iran  & Iraq 
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