AFC U-16 Championship Full Time: India 0-0 Indonesia

For all latest news, photos, video highlights, reviews, editorial, tactical analysis from AFC U-16 Championship sign up for Khel Now.

   0-0   

 

Indonesia might have topped the group with this, but even qualifying as the runners-up from this group is a huge achievement for India. Their gritty display today showed the heart in the team and how far they've come under Bibiano Fernandes' guidance. Now, a difficult task awaits in the final eight against giants South Korea, who will pose as India's biggest threat yet. It's three clean-sheets in three matches for the defensively strong Colts and Bikash Yumnum in particular deserves a pat on the back for a heroic performance today. This is Uttiyo Sarkar signing out for Khel Now. Thanks and Good Night, Ladies and Gentelemen!

90+3 OHHH!! India's hearts almost sunk back then. The Colts couldn't clear out danger and Renedy found a cheeky shot which goes out for a corner. But the corner is cleared and INDIA GO INTO THE QUARTER-FINALS!!

90+2 The freekick hits the wall and is deflected away for a corner. 

90+1 A free-kick for Indonesia just outside the box. Sutan is brought down by a defender and this will have to be defended well. Harpreet is brought on for D'Mello to help them defend it. 

90' Three minutes of added time announce. Just a few more minutes for India to record a famous qualification. Can they hold on?

89' India are truly living on the edge here! Indonesia again pile the ball forward and capitalze on a mistake from Ahammed, but the shot is deflected away for a corner. 

88' Lalrokima is brought on for Ravi Rana. Indonesia create another terrorizing move through the left which finds it way to Sutan. He lays it to Renedy inside the box, but the substitute's pass to his team-mate is too powerful. Nervy for India!

87' CLOSE FOR INDONESIA. That was almost like a heart-in-mouth moment for India. A decent pass from the left is sent into the middle and after Ricky fails to deal wih it, Renedy takes a blazing shot which just whiskers over the bar. 

86' The Blue Colts create a decent attacking move and get many players into the final-third, before D'Mello plays in a ball to Vikram on the right flank. The India captain tries to beat his defender, but overruns with the ball which is setn out for Indonesia. 

84' Sutan is again sent through on the right flank and given some space to get in a cross, but his low cross goes straight to Niraj's hands. 

83' India are just now looking to let the minutes pass and try to sneak in a goal in there. One point will be enough, but the boys show a hunger to get all three. 

80' India manage to clear off that corner, but Niraj seems to have taken a knock. He might've landed awkwardly trying to hold the ball and is holding his knee. 

79' Brave defending from India. Indonesia make some quick passes in the final third before passing it to Sutan, whose powerful cross is sent out for a corner. 

77' Close! Renedy was the one to take the curling free-kick which sailed just wide of the target, much to Niraj's pleasure. 

76' Another booking for India, as Sailo is shown the yellow-card for a desperate challenge. He brought down the Indonesia winger sailing through on goal and gave them a free-kick from a promising position. 

75' Worrying signs for Indonesia, as their pacy winger Supriadi is stretched off. Salman  Alfarid replaces him. They'll hope he will be fit for their quarter-finals, as he plays a pivotal role in their game. 

73' Indonesia make a substitution, with Bagus making his way for Renedy Juliansyah. Meanwhile, Ricky gets the ball outside their half and lets it rip, but his shot goes way wide of the target. 

72' BIG CHANCE AGAIN! D'Mello shows some brilliant work on the left-flank, beating his man and trickign his way into the box. He lays it off for Ricky, who can't seem to divert the ball into the back of the net because of the number of bodies ahead of him. Frustrating moment for the colts!

71' India are looking to take a breather after what was a blitzering 10 minutes or so. Only a point is needed to qualify for the next round, so the young Colts have to be careful before piling men forward. 

68' First substitution for India with Givson Singh making way for Lalcchanhima Sailo. Meanwhile, India almsot get a heart-attack after that when Supriadi makes a terrific run towards the goal, but his shot is blocked courageously by Thoiba! Great defending! 

67' CLOSE! India are the ones piling the pressure now and create another the chance. Vikram moves brilliantly through the right to beat his man and put in a terrific low cross, but Rana can't reach it in time! Terrific work from the India captain. 

65' The Blue Colts finally seems to have found energy from that chance. They move forward again as Givson tries to put in a cheeky through ball for D'Mello, but it is intercepted by the Indonesia defenders. 

63' WHAT A CHANCE FOR INDIA! A great freekick is met by the header of Vikram Pratap, who lays it on for D'Mello who was through on goal but couldn't connect with the ball despite being one-on-one with the keeper. That should've been put in!

62' Andre becomes the first Indonesian player to get booked after his nasty challenge brings down Ravi Bahadur. 

61' The effort is a weak one from Ravi Bahadur Rana, whose free-kick goes through the wall but is collected very easily by Ernando. 

59' India receive a free-kick from a promising, central area after Givson is brought down by an Indonesian defender. Can Givson capitalize on this?

56' Vikram goes down inside the penalty area and has a penalty shout after receiving the ball from the throw-in, but referees sees nothing in it. Bikash is shown a yellow-card for blatantly bringing down Supriardi who was blazing through on a counter. 

55' Vikram shows signs of his dangerous movement, chasing and holding onto D'Mello's pass and earning a throw-in for India. 

53' Givson goes for a shot from way out instead of looking for a pass inside the box and sees his ambitious attempt sail much wide of the target. 

52' India receive a long-throw on the left flank which is sent in viciously by Bikash, but Thoiba Singh's header is deflected out for a corner. 

49' Shabas Ahammed is the first player to get booked for a needless challenge on Supriadi which gives Indonesia a promising free-kick. 

48' India are struggling to pass the ball comfortably from the right to the left. Indonesia are having no problems and have enjoyed much of the possession so far. 

46' The second half kicks-off!  Indonesia are attacking from the left to the right. 

The teams are coming back into the field. The second half will kick off in a few moments now. 

It's been a really end to end game of football between these two bright teams so far. Nobody is showing signs to back down, as India have been really dangerous on certain counter-attacks. India are showing signs of sloppiness at times which could come back to haunt them in the 2nd half. Indonesia are playing real fluid football and moving with purpose, but the brilliant of Bikash Yumnum in particular has helped the Blue Colts keep them out. With Iran winning their game 4-0, India will have to get one point out of this game in order to qualify for the quarter finals. We'll be back with updates from the 2nd half in 15 minutes! Stay tuned folks!

45' One minte of added time! Meanwhile, India almost capitalize on a mistake by Indonesia as D'Mello is through on goal, but Ernando gets to the ball before him. 

44' The Blue Colts have come sloppy in the last few minutes. Givson again lets the Indonesian midfielder steal the ball off him and attack. The ball is again played to Bagus, whose ambitious shot almost sails into the stands. 

42' ALMOST! Indonesia manage to steal the ball in midfield and Andre plays in a fine ball to Bagus on the right flank, allowing the winger to hit a powerful shot which was whiskers away from going into the net. India need to be more careful!

41' Givson did well to put in a great free-kick which found Thoiba on the far-post, but the defender couldn't divert his header onto goal. 

40' A promising free-kick for India after Vikram Pratap is brought down on the right flank!

39' D'Mello does well to hold up the ball on the right wing but is caught in two minds in what to do with it. The striker tries tricking the defender, but is overwhelmed by many bodies wich allows Indonesia to take away the ball. 

36' Indonesia again move dangrously through the wing and make it to the penalty area, but that man Bikash is again there to prevent danger. Meanwhile, in the other game, Iran are winning 4-0 against Vietnam!

35' The free-kick migh've been from a promising area, but Sutan's attempt is too weak and easily cleared away. 

33' Supriadi again gets the better of Shabas, who is forced to bring him down in what is a promising area for Indonesia to get a free-kick. 

32' WOOF! Indonesia are getting closer and closer in scoring a goal, as that boy David again hits a stunning shot. He gets the ball after its cleared from inside the box and takes a whirling left-foot shot which blazes just wide of the goal. 

30' CLOSE FOR INDONESIA! They absolutely dumb-founded India with their stunning movement there. Supriadi again makes it way into the box and plays a clever one-two with Sutan, but over-runs the ball which makes its way to Niraj's safe hands. 

28' The players finally get some breathing room after Indonesia's right-back Bagas goes down. He is being treated by his medical staff. Earlier, Bikash did really well to stop winger Bagus' brilliance and has been solid today. 

26' Supriadi is causing all sorts of problems for India. The ball is played to the winger, who goes past Shabash and shows his bliztering pace by getting to the by-line, but eventually trips on his own feet which allows the ball to go out. 

23' End to end stuff here! Indonesia again make their way through to India's penalty area but a clutch challenge from Bikash helps clear the ball. But the ball makes its way to D'Mello, who lodges a counter-attack with his pace and almost makes it through on goal before his attempt is thwarted. 

22' CLOSE AGAIN! A beautiful ball from midfield sends Givson Singh through on the left wing as he cuts-back and tries to play in a ball to the middle, but sees his pass held onto by Ernando. 

20' Lovely move from India! The Blue colts create their biggest chance yet when a ball from the right-wing finds Ravi inside the box. He lays it off for Ricky, who was free inside and takes a shot, which is deflected away for a corner. 

19' Poor moment for Thoiba Singh. The defender tries to let the ball roll through to Niraj and doesn't see Sutan on his heels. He allows Sutan to take a shot, but thankfully it goes over. 

18' Nervy moment for India! Indonesia manage to penetrate through their defense and the ball is played to right-back Bagas inside the box, but his cut-off goes through everyone and is eventually cleared out. 

16' Ricky is down! Worrying signs for Bibiano Fernandes as the young defensive midfielder is down after seemingly picking up a knock. Hopefully, he'll be fine!

14' Dazzling move from Indonesia. They move really well from the right wing before Bagus moves into the middle and passes to Sutan, who lays it off for David Mallana whose shot is wide of the target. 

13' India have done well to thwart whatever Indonesia have thrown at them so far. Bikash Yumnum and Shabash Ahammed have both looked sharp in their positions. 

11' Supriadi goes on a surging half from his own half before playing a one-two with Sutan, but his movement is tracked well as his attemps to make a cross is vanquished by Shabas. 

8' Indonesia have pushed India deep into their own half with their dominant start to the game. They've enjoyed the lion's share of possession so far and gone close to create goal-scoring chances but the Blue Colts have done well to contain their threat. 

6' CLOSE for India! Ridge D'Mello does well to start a counter-attack after Indonesia almost scored. He moves really well on the left-wing and sends in a cross to Vikram, whose header sails over the post. Encouraging early signs for India! 

4' The Indonesia fans are having a blast in the wings. They've created an amazing atmoshpere with their loud chants and are making it seem like the 80k+ stadium is packed to the rafters!

3' Indonesia are stretching India with some tricky movement through the wings. Bagus goes down in the penalty box after finding his way through the right wing, but the referee waves play on. 

1' AND WE KICKOFF! India start the game attacking from the left to the right. 

The players have come onto the field and are going through with their pre-match national anthems. India are playing in white as usual, while Indonesia are in red. 

There has been a huge turnout for Indonesia in the stands. The Indonesian fans have absolutely packed their side of the stands and are making their voice felt. They will definitely make things difficult for India today.  There are loyal India fans also packed up in a part of the stadium and they'll look to provide extra motivation to the players. 

India have predictably stuck to the same side who have been impressing in the last two matches. It seems like Bibiano Fernandes does not want to risk changing the core in such an important match. He'll hope his boys maintain concentration and do not get fazed by Indonesia's attack today. Indonesia, on the other hand, have fielded a pretty strong, attacking-minded lineup themselves. Their front three will look to cause a lot of damage to India and keep the Blue Colts on their toes throughout the game. 

Here's how India line-up today:

Niraj, Shabas, Thoiba, Bikash, Gurkirat, Ravi, Givson, Ricky, Vikram(C), Bekey, D'Mello. 

Indonesia XI: Ernando, Bagas, Komang, Fadillah, Yudha, Andre, Bryliam, David, Bagus, Sutan, Supriadi. 

Bibiano Fernandes has organized his side admirably in this tournament. The Blue Colts are yet to concede a goal in the competition and show no signs of fear when defending in numbers. Niraj Kumar was India's savior against Iran on Monday and he'll have to be at his best again to keep out Indonesia's relentless attacks. 

Indonesia, on the other hand, will look to take out the frustration of their draw against Vietnam on India. The AFF U-16 Champions are a terrorizing force on the attack and will look to use their speed and power on the wings to cause chaos for the Blue Colts. Striker Sultan Zico and winger Amiruddin Bagus will be two players India will need to keep an eye out for today. 

For India, the equations are quite simple today. Avoid a loss at any cost! Even a draw could be enough for the Blue Colts to create history in qualifying for the AFC U-16 Championship quarter-finals stages. But Bibiano Fernandes seemed a confident man in the pre-match press conference and will be gunning for all three points which can help his side top the group and get easier opponents in the knockout stages.

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

5:45 PM- Hello everyone! The weather is a little unpredictable here in Kuala Lumpur, and the Indian national team is all set to face table-toppers Indonesia in their third group stage fixture of the AFC U-16 Championship. The Blue Colts defeated Vietnam in their first match, and held Iran to a stalemate in their second game. There has been scattered thunderstorms, and already few matches have been postponed. But this won't spoil the experience of the game. This is your host Uttiyo Sarkar, and I hope you enjoy the game.

Match Preview- Confident India look to seal knockout stages berth against Indonesia