By Shraishth Jain,

AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The state of Goa is considered to be synonymous with Indian football and with the AFC U-16 Championship 2018 set to kick off later this month, the Indian contingent for the competition too has a distinct Goan flavour in the form of Shanon Viegas, who is a playmaker with an eye for goal.

The 16-year-old, a die-hard fan of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo, is a key component in Bibiano Fernandes' squad and has been touted as a future prospect since his U-12 days. A movie buff as well, he counts James Bond flick Spectre as his favourite and is a fan of Akshay Kumar and Shruti Hassan.

He fell in love with the sport as a kid and recounted his memories in a chat with the-aiff.com. "Football has been my number one passion growing up and I never missed an opportunity to play the beautiful game. In school, I really enjoyed bunking classes just to go out and play football," he recalls with a cheeky smile.

"It has been a privilege to play for team India and I love training with my fellow teammates and coaches," says Viegas, before adding, "The most memorable moment was when I missed a no-look pass in the warm-up and everyone started laughing."

The Goan, like his national team predecessors Alvito D'Cunha and Climax Lawrence, is a massive threat for opponents from distance and has found the net on a number of occasions from outside the box. "The best one has to be the long-range goal I scored against TFA! It really stands out in my memory," he said.

The Indian team kicks off its campaign at the AFC U-16 Championships on September 21 against Vietnam and for Viegas, the aim is to secure the crucial U-17 World Cup spot. "I hope to play my part for the team in Malaysia and help them reach the semifinal at least so that we can qualify for the World Cup next year in Peru," he said, signing off.