Iran are one of the strongest teams and we almost had a win against them– Bibiano Fernandes

India need a draw against current table toppers Indonesia to advance to the quarter-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship.

Not a man who prefers to dive deep into history, Indian U-16 National Team Head Coach Bibiano Fernandes smiled when reminded that it was back in 1984 when India had last held Iran to a goalless draw in the Asia Cup Finals in Singapore.

The morning after his wards held “mighty” Iran to a goalless draw in the ongoing AFC U-16 Championship Malaysia 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Bibiano preferred to reflect back on his team’s performance. “We have got better and better as the tournament has progressed. The mistakes I had identified defensively in the game against Vietnam were not there against Iran,” he stated.

As things stand now, India need a draw against current table toppers Indonesia to advance to the quarterfinals. Even a loss will earn them a quarter-final ticket if the other match between Iran and Vietnam which kicks-off at the same time ends in a draw.

“We performed to the best of our abilities and though it would have been special if we would have won, we are happy with a point and aim on our next opponents,” Bibiano reflected on India’s 3 missed chances in the last 5 minutes.

“We had aimed for a win, but I am very pleased and happy with a point and a draw. As long as chances are created, goals would come. It would have been a worry if chances were not created,” the Coach added.

Meanwhile, Goalkeeper Niraj Kumar who saved a penalty in the 76th minute maintained it was “big challenge” to play Iran. “I was confident that I would save the penalty,” he laughed. “We were playing at a rhythm in the match and I had that confidence and the team support behind me,” he quipped. “It is always a challenge to face Iran and we had to be on our toes defensively to put up with their swift forwards.”

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Defender Bikash Yumnam maintained “it won’t be easy against Indonesia.”

"We were very compact defensively against Iran. We know we had to play together as a unit. Iran are very strong in attack but we devised a plan to counter that. It won't be easy against Indonesia. They have very swift forwards. We will stick to our strategy against them. We will give our best," he stated.

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The calm man that he is, Bibiano has been successful in developing a bunch of raw talented youngsters into a cohesive unit.

“The positive part is that we are still developing into a more evolved version as a team. Each and every player is giving his cent percent in training and are playing as a single unit. We have the capacity to give our cent percent in each and this team has shown what dedication and hard work can do in football. It was a difficult match for us against Iran. Iran are one of the strongest teams to face in youth tournaments and we almost had a win against them,” Bibiano pronounced.