AFC U-16 Championship Live Commentary: Korea Republic 1-0 India

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1-0

Jeong San-Bin 68'             

 

Despite the loss, India managed to show a lot of heart in that performance. The defensive organisation was almost impossible fora  fantastic attacking team like Korea Republic to break open that easily. Korea had to huff and puff before a stroke of luck and tiniest of mistake from Niraj was pounced on by Jeong San-Bin. India could've gotten that goal through Givson's thunderous attempt on another day, but some promising moments were displayed in that performance. Bibiano Fernandes men now will have to go through the qualification rounds to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019. But the inspired showing in this tournament and courageous performance agianst a team like Korea Republic proves how there's a good chance of the Blue Colts progressed far ahead in qualification. This is Uttiyo Sarkar, signing out for Khel Now. Thank You and Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen!

90+3 India try their bestto lodge one attack forward, but can't really do anything as the ball goes ahead. The final whistle blows and Bibiano Fernandes' boys bow out of the tournament on a fighting note. 

90+2 D'Mello and Vikram do well to move through the right wing before Ridge makes his way into the penalty area, but his poor shot is easily cleared by the Korean defense. 

90+1 Three minutes of added time! Can India pull a rabbit out of the hat to force penalty kicks here?!

90' CLOSE! Some sloppy defending from Korea allows India to send Vikram Pratap free on goal and despite geting into the Korea box, Pratap over-times his run and sees the ball go away for a Korea kick. 

88' India are making some needless fouls in order to try and regain posession. Harpreet fouls a Korean player after he clashes heads trying to win the ball in the air. 

85' CLOSE! It's the goal-scorer Jeong San-Bin who almost adds another when his thunderous shot is deflected out for a corner and goes wide of the target. 

84' The Blue Colts are being frustrated right now with Korea's time-wasting. They are almost forcing fouls on themselves and Choi is down after being fouled by Thoiba SIngh 

82' Korea Republic are just making time tick for now. They are passing it among themselves and India can't really do anything about it due to the exhausted players on the field. 

80' Another attacking change for India. Eric makes his AFC u-16 championship debut comes on for Ricky Jabong.

79' India do well to not concede another after a dangerous corner. The corner isn't cleared well at all, but before anyone can get a shot on, India manage to clear the ball out of danger. 

77' A beautiful move forward from Korea Republic. The midfielders put on really well to play short passes before sending their winger through the left, but his cross is cleared away by the Blue Colts.  

74' India move through the right once again and a floated ball finds Ricky John in the box, but his attempt is cleared by Lee. Korea's left-back is also down after taking a knock from that clearance. 

73' Promising signs from the Blue Colts. India manage to win back the ball from midfield and its played to D'Mello, who cleverly finds Vikram on the right, but India's captain takes an ambitious shot which flies into the stands. 

71' Substitution from India. Lalchhanhima Sailo comes on for Givson Singh to give India a fresh pair of legs going forward. 

70' Fantastic work from Thoiba to stop Korea from getting another goal. The ball is played in really well to Choi, but before he can turn and take a shot, Thoiba is there to clear it. 

68' KOREA LEAD! There pressure has finally paid off. A terrific, vicious shot from inside the box is parried away by Niraj, but Jeong San-Bin does well to follow up on it and calmy puts it into the back of the net. 1-0!

64' GREAT SAVE! Niraj is at it again to save India from despair! A great ball is sent from Sang-Hoon to Choi, who takes a powerful shot which forces a great save from Niraj before being sent over for a corner. 

62' Korea are making another substitution here. Jae-min is replaced by Jin-Ho. They seem desperate to break open the game now and are showing signs of frustration. 

60' Korea aren't finding it that easy to wiggle their way into India's final third this half. The Indians are much better organized and the midfielders are working hard to start creating chances. 

57' India are pressing the Korean players really well this time. Korea send the ball back to their keeper, but Rana was there to pressurize him and forces a defender to pass it straight to Vikram. The India captain tries to go himself by dribbling into the box, but is stopped in his tracks. 

55' OFF THE BAR! The corresponding free-kick from Jeong is beautifully floated over the wall and stings the top of the bar before going out. Nervy moment for Niraj there. 

54' A poor foul from Shabas Ahammed. The right-back is beaten by Hong, who goes past him and Ahammed takes him down intentionally, which forces the referee to give him a yellow card. 

52' WHAT A CHANCE!! India send in a floating long-ball into the middle, which is brought down impressively by D'Mello and falls for Givson, who hits a vicious volley that is amazingly parried out for a corner by Hoon. Stunning move from the Colts. 

51' D'Mello does well to come back and win the ball for India, before playing it through to Vikram who makes a bright run on the right before being brought down. 

49' Bekey Oram poorly brings down a Korean winger in midfield. A promising area for Korea Republic to get a free-kick here. But Choi's header from the free-kick sailed wide off the target. 

48' The Blue Colts seem to be a bit more attack-minded this half. The midfielders are trying to win back the ball and create attacks and there's much more positivity in India's game in this half. 

46' The 2nd half kicks-off! India are attacking from the left through the right this time and show some good movement to move through the right. But Vikram losses the ball in the final third, allowing Korea to regain possession. 

Korea make their first substitution before half-time. Kim Yun-Seong is replaced by Jeong San-Bin!

The first half was almost all Korea Republic. They attacked throughout the half but have been left frustrated thanks to India's rigid organization defensively. Niraj Kumar has been the Blue Colts hero so far, pulling some sublime saves to keep his side in the game. But the midfielders in Ricky John, Givson Singh and Bekey Oram have to retain posession better and not give it away all the time. The last attack of the game from India showed promising signs for the next half and a burst of energy can help cause big problems for Korea Republic, who are visibly growing tired. We'll be back with 2nd half updates in a few minutes folks!

45+3 CLOSE! India seem to have gotten energized in the dying minutes of the half and moved with purpose on the left. D'Mello moves to the left before he passes it to Ravi Rana, who takes an ambitious shot from long way out that is parried out strongly by Hoon. Encouraging end to the half!

45+1' The last corner of the half is defended suoperbly by India. The half ends with a nasty foul after Hong takes out D'Mello. The Korean defender gets a yellow card for his terrible challenge and both him and D'Mello are down. 

44' Bibiano Fernandes will be slightly worried by his side's tendency of losing possession too easily. The midfielders have to do better to keep the ball more often than giving it away and letting Korea mount more attacks. 

41' Kumar is thwarting away anything sent in his box! This time a cross from the left flank is spotted well by Niraj, who comes charging in to powerfully punch it out of danger. 

38' Another save from Kumar! This time, Korea's #10 Yun-Sang takes a shot from the left which is comfortably held onto by the India number one. 

36' WHAT A SAVE! Niraj is not letting anything go past him today! Choi again manages to wiggle his way into the box and takes a low shot which Niraj saves amazingly by diving wide to his left. Fantastic save!

34' SAVE! Korea's striker Choi manages to get the ball in the final third and takes his time before striking a powerful shot from outside the box which is strongly parried away for a corner by the diving Niraj. The corner itself was a dangerous one, but a foul on Niraj was spotted well by the referee. 

33' Nervy moment for Niraj! Ryun takes that corner really well and makes sure it meets a Korea player's header and having failed to punch away the ball, Niraj was lucky to see the header go wide of the target. 

32' CLOSE! Korea surge forward with all their might and their winger also goes down theatrically inside the box to try and earn a penalty. But after that isn't given, Ryun-Seong takes a shot which is again deflected away for a corner. 

30' Good stuff from Vikram Pratap Singh. The Indian captain comes deep to defend for his side and wins back the ball, before trying to surge forward with it. He's tripped just as he was going to beat his man and the referee gives Jae-Min a bit of a talk. 

27' The Blue Colts have managed to frustrate Korea Republic really well today! The players are covering serious ground to help each other and making things difficult for them to get clear-cut chances. 

25' Gurkirat Singh has a bit of an embarrassing moment when he trips up trying to take a throw-in. The pitch conditions don't seem the most ideal today!

22' Korea seem to be playing a long-ball game to test the Indian defenses resolve. Niraj has remained confident and has collected each of the crosses which have come into his path so far. 

19' India have barely managed to get much possession in this game. Every time they try to move ahead, the Korean players press them rigidly to regain possession. Need to show a bit maturity when in possession of the ball. 

16' The Blue Colts manage to stitch a few passes together after D'Mello impressively latches onto a clearance. But a long ball from Ricky John to the left flank is a poor one, allowing Korea to regain possession. 

14' SAVE! Korea move into the box with real intent with some fantastic movement and its Ryun-Seong who again takes a swipe at goal, but his shot is superbly parried away by Niraj. They get to the rebound and takes another shot from outside the box, that wheezes away from goal. 

11' First chance for Korea, as Ryun-Seong finds the ball just outside the box and takes a shot which is deflected out for a corner. The corresponding corner is a dangerous one and meets a Korean header, but Niraj collects it comfortably. 

9' Dangerous move from Korea Republic! A floating ball from the back goes through many Indian defenders, but Thoiba is there to clear it before a Korea winger can get to it.  

7' Korea get the first corner of the game after a ton of possession on the right flank and a mistimed tackle from Ravi goes beyond for a corner. But the corresponding spot-kick to the backpost is met with a tame header from a Korean defender which goes out. 

5' Korea have controlled the lions share of the possession so far in the game. India are staying behind, but have made too many fouls. The Blue Tigers steal the ball and try to create another counter, but it's wasted by Ridge D'Mello's poor pass. 

3' South Korea receive a free-kick which is cleared away well by India, who also start a pacy counter-attack. But Ravi Rana is phased out in midfield and is forced to play the ball back to his defense. 

1' And we KICKOFF! Korea Republic begin the game attacking from the left to the right. 

6:13 PM Korea Republic Starting XI:

Hoon(C), Tae-Seok, Ho-Jun, Jun-Suk, Sung-Wook, Suk-Ju, Sang-Hoon, Min-Seo, Yun-Sang, Ryun-Seong, Jae-Min. 

6:10 PM The teams are starting to come out on the pitch. The national anthems will now take place, followed by the toss after which the game will start. Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen. Kick-off in a few minutes!

6:05 PM- It's been a very mirrored road to the quarter-finals for these two teams. While India are tied with scoring the least number of goals, Korea scored the most number of goals during the Group Stages. They scored 12 as compared to India's single goal which got them through to the quarter-finals. Korea boast of a dangerous attack and India will have to pull off the performance of the tournament to keep them at bay. 

6:00 PM- Harpreet Singh has been brought on to replace Bikash Yumnam, who misses the match due to an injury. Singh featured for India at the SAFF U-15 Championships last year but will face a huge task ahead to contain the lethal Korean attack. 

Also Read- We will give everything that we have against Korea Republic- Bibiano Fernandes

5:55 PM-

 

Starting XI for India U16 vs Korea Republic U16. Kick-off time 6.15 PM IST.#StarsOfTomorrow #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/ByWBvtWqOQ

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 1, 2018

Here are the Indian lineup against Korea Republic

Also Read- We back ourselves as underdogs against Korea Republic- Bibiano Fernandes

5:50 PM- The last time India U-16 were able to make it to the quarter-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship, they were defeated 1-3 by South Korea in 2002. Bibiano Fernandes will be wary of Korea's attacking threat this season and the Blue Colts have to dig deep in order to contain their barrage of attacks. 

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5:45 PM- Hello everyone! It is an amazing day here in Malaysia and the Indian U-16 National Team is all set to face powerhouse Korea Republic in the quarter final fixture of the ongoing AFC U-16 Championship. The Blue Colts defeated Vietnam and drew against Iran and Indonesia in the group stages and need only one win to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup next year in Peru. The weather is just perfect and spectators are coming in to experience the game. This is your host Uttiyo Sarkar, and I hope you enjoy the game with me.

Match preview- India face mighty South Korea with FIFA U-17 World Cup berth at stake