By Joseph Solomon,

AIFF Media Team

DAMMAM (SAUDI ARABIA): It is strange for a national team to feel at home when playing a championship away from their respective country. That however was the case for the Indian U-19 National Team who felt at home playing the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers in Dammam, Saudi Arabia; courtesy to the Indian community in the port city that made life easier for the young colts on the pitch.

Thousands of Indian fans flocked the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam and cheered for the Indian colts. So much so, that in India’s 0-5 loss against Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the qualifiers, hosts Saudi Arabia on the stands, were seemingly the away team, with chants of “INDIA INDIA” ringing the stadium up.

That atmosphere remained the same throughout the Qualifiers with the Indian fans almost making it a house-full Indian stand against Yemen and Turkmenistan. The chants doubled and the cheers tripled after India defeated Turkmenistan 3-0 in the last match of the qualifiers.

Head Coach of the Indian U-19s Luis Norton de Matos thanked the fans for their support and said, “We were delighted to see such a strong support for us and it means a lot that the Indian community came to support us in the stadium”

“The fans acted as the 12th man and helped the team when needed through their cheers and chants. It is fantastic to see what football means to the Indian community over here in Dammam”, Matos added.

Meanwhile, skipper Amarjit Singh said, “Whenever we were under pressure, the fans used to cheer for us and make us feel comfortable. It was surreal to get this type of atmosphere playing so far from home”

“We felt at home playing infront of the fans here in Dammam. It was a very sepcial experience playing infront of thousands of Indian fans in a different country”, stated Dheeraj Singh.