The hard fought victory against Iraq was extremely special– Bibiano Fernandes

India finished with nine points from four matches in the tournament.

India U-16 Head Coach Bibiano Fernandes highlighted the team’s “self-belief” after the U-16 colts finished their engagements in the WAFF U-16 Championship in Amman, Jordan.

“We have now learnt how to come back and win games, especially after a defeat. We have been continuously believing in ourselves,” he told www.the-aiff.com after India finished with 9 points from 4 matches in the tournament.

“We had been conceding late goals in our previous matches in China, Thailand and Malaysia. The team was pushing hard for a winner in the dying stages but on this tour, we converted our chances leaving us in a much more comfortable position to defend and keep clean sheets,” Bibiano maintained.

The Indian colts conceded just 2 from their four matches and maintained clean sheets in the other three.

However, Bibiano maintained “there is always room for improvement and we still have a lot of work to do.”

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“The hard-fought victory against Iraq was extremely special. The 93rd-minute winner is something that will stay with us. The biggest challenge now is to keep the team focused and hungry for success.”

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The Indian colts made short work of Jordan 4-0 in their opening encounter and accounted for current U-16 Asian Champions Iraq in what was an Indian National Team’s first-ever win over Iraq in any format, before rounding off Yemen 3-0 in the last match. However, the boys lost lead and match to Asian powerhouses Japan 1-2 in their other match.

The colts now proceed to the AFC U-16 Championship Malaysia 2018 to be played in Kuala Lumpur from September 20. The 16 qualified teams in the AFC U-16 Championship have been divided into four groups of 4 teams each with the top two from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. India has been clubbed with Iran, Vietnam and Indonesia in Group C. The four semi-finalists get a direct ticket to the next edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2019.