Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team

KATHMANDU, NEPAL: The India U20 men’s team are looking to use their mix of experience and creativity as they brace for their first Group B match of the SAFF U20 Championship against Bhutan to be played on the artificial turf of the ANFA Complex on Monday, August 19, 2024, at 2.45 pm IST. The match will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube channel.

The Blue Colts landed in Kathmandu, Nepal a day after India celebrated its 77th Independence Day, and have been preparing for the upcoming challenge since. They have had two training sessions in the capital of Nepal so far.

Blue Colts head coach Ranjan Chaudhuri said, “We have been preparing hard in Goa for the last two months, and the time is almost here for the opening challenge. We are the defending champions of the SAFF U20 Championship; it obviously motivates us a great deal.

“The game against Bhutan will be an important outing for us, the first match of a tournament always is,” he said.

Midfielder Akash Tirkey believes that the two months spent camping in Goa have helped the team build their fitness and on-pitch chemistry ahead of the Championship.

“We have practiced hard and seriously during our two-month camp in Goa, and I can just see that all of us are raring to go,” said Tirkey. “The whole team have learned a lot from our coaches over this period. Now, all that’s left for us to do is to play well, and get the win against Bhutan.”

Most of the boys currently in the India U20 squad have played against Bhutan two years back in the SAFF U17 Championship, which they won 3-0 in Sri Lanka.

“We have nine players who have played this tournament before at the lower age groups, and it will be important to use their experience against our opponents,” said Chaudhuri.

Goalkeeper Sahil, who had kept a clean sheet against Bhutan in the SAFF U17 Championship 2022, highlighted the importance of winning the first game of a tournament.

“Back in 2022, when we played Bhutan, we had just come into the national team, and none of us had the experience of playing international football even at the junior level,” said Sahil.

“They played a lot of short passes and managed their possessional build-up very well, but we fought hard and were able to win the match 3-0 in the end,” he added. “That victory gave us the confidence that we could produce such results at the international level too. That’s why we must get three points in our first match.”

Forward Thanglalsoun Gangte scored a brace against the same team, his maiden strike in an official junior international match. He recalled, “The scoreline may look like a comfortable win for us, but it was not an easy match by any stretch of the imagination. I scored two goals early in the game, but then we had to constantly protect ourselves against their threat.”

Bhutan U20s midfielder and captain Pema Zangpo acknowledged the strength of the Blue Colts, though he felt that his teammates were ready for the challenge.

“India are definitely a good team and a strong side on paper. But we are not scared of them. the boys are in a good place mentally, and we will try our best against them,” said Zangpo.