India qualify for AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 despite 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in final qualifier

The Indian men’s football team lost its final Group D clash of the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers 2-1 to hosts Saudi Arabia at the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Khobar on Sunday but qualified for next year’s continental showpiece as one of the six best runner-ups across all groups.

Heading into the tie, both India and Saudi Arabia won all three of their group fixtures and the winner of the match was guaranteed to finish top and in the process, an automatic qualification to next year’s AFC U-17 Asian Cup.

Saudi Arabia, two-time U-17 Asian champions, topped the group with 12 points from four games while India finished second with nine points. In the table for the runners-up, India made it through as the fourth-best team behind South Korea, China and Afghanistan. Thailand and Laos were the two other runners-up teams to make the cut.

Since the groups had a varying number of teams, some four and some five, a special formula was used to draw up the table for the best runners-ups. The results against the fourth-placed teams in groups with four teams and the results against the fourth and fifth-placed teams in groups with five teams were not considered for the final runners-up rankings.

With Saudi Arabia boasting a superior goal difference, the onus was on Bibiano Fernandes’ India to win the match outright to seal the automatic qualification spot.

However, India was dealt an early blow with Saudi Arabia’s Talal Abubakr Haji giving his team the all-important lead in the 21st minute. After the break, Haji struck again in the 58th minute from the penalty spot to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

Two goals down and desperate for a comeback, the Indian boys took the attack to the opposition in the final 30 minutes but failed to convert the chances they created. In added time, however, Thanglalsoun Gangte, who has been excellent for India throughout the qualifying campaign, found a consolation goal in the dying seconds.

This is the ninth, and third consecutive time, that India have qualified for the main draw of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, previously known as the U-16 Asian Cup. India’s best results at the tournament to date are quarter-final finishes in 2002 and 2022.

The upcoming edition of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup will be the 20th edition of the tournament.

The 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup was earlier set to be conducted in Bahrain in May next year but after they pulled out as hosts, the AFC is yet to finalise a new venue.

Teams qualified for AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023

• Japan

• Malaysia

• Qatar

• Saudi Arabia

• Yemen

• Vietnam

• Australia

• Tajikistan

• Iran

• Uzbekistan

• South Korea

• China

• Afghanistan

• India

• Thailand

• Laos