Jeddah, May 9 (IANS) Just one match remains. One game for the India U17 men’s team to fulfil their dream of being the first from the land to qualify for a World Cup.

The equation is simple – defeat Uzbekistan at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium on Sunday, May 10, and India could progress, should Uzbekistan drop points against Australia. A draw could also be enough, if Australia defeat Uzbekistan by a margin of more than four goals.

For India U17 men’s national team head coach Bibiano Fernandes, it has always been a dream to see India play on merit at a World Cup. He was, in fact, one step away from such a dream back in 2018, when the Blue Colts made it all the way to the quarter-finals of the AFC U16 Championship in Malaysia; they were one victory away from World Cup qualification.

“World Cup qualification is a dream that we have been chasing for some time now. We came close in 2018, but I felt that on all the previous occasions, we had the capability to go all the way,” said Fernandes. “This is something that’s close to all of our hearts, and we have been feeding the same energy to all the boys. I feel the group, as a whole, is fully focused on doing everything possible to get to our ultimate target.”

India have used their three days of rest to prepare for the final stand against Uzbekistan.

“The staff did a really good job in preparing the players. Every player was analysed, and all the information was given to the team so they understood the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition,” said Fernandes. “Now we’ve had three days to rest and prepare for the game against Uzbekistan. I know it will be a similar game to that we had against Australia, because they are quite physical as well. But we are aware of that, and we are going to deal with it.”

Fernandes recalled the India U17s’ other preparatory matches against other such teams like Türkiye and Korea Republic of Korea, and feels that the boys are well-equipped to deal with such challenges.

“We have faced physically strong teams in the past and performed well against them. We just need to remind ourselves of what we did in those matches. I am confident the boys will do well against Uzbekistan,” said Fernandes

–IANS

hs/

.