In a scrimmage on Thursday at the Alcala de Henares in Madrid, the India U-17 Men’s National Team defeated Atletico de Madrileno U-16s 2-1.
The AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023, which will be held in Thailand in June of this year, is now being prepared for by the India U-17s, who are currently in Madrid, Spain, where they are taking part in a series of training matches. Tallon pulled one back for the home team before India’s Thanglalsoun Gangte and Lalpekhlua scored early in the second half, giving the visitors a razor-thin victory.
The hosts began the match on the front foot, as India dug deep in the opening exchanges to keep the scores level. However, India were ready to shift gears on the counter and got a chance in the third minute itself, when they broke off a Faizan Waheed clearance and Gogocha proceeded up the pitch to feed a cross to Gangte, who shot wide.
India keeper Julfikar Gazi was also called into action late in the first half, as he kept the scores at 0-0 before the breather. The Spanish side began on the front foot in the second half as well, and Gazi had to make an acrobatic save early on to keep them out in the 53rd minute.
Interestingly, the changes turned the game around for the Blue Colts, and India took the lead as Korou passed it for Gangte, who took his chance with great aplomb. Having taken the lead, the Korou-Gangte duo worked their magic once again just four minutes later.
Korou sent in a cross for Gangte, and this time, the latter, instead of going for the goal himself, left it for Lalpekhlua to make it 2-0.
Another three changes were made by Fernandes with 15 minutes of regulation time left on the clock, as Mukul Panwar, Balkaran Singh, and Shashwat replaced Pramveer, Suraj, and Gangte. Atletico did pull one back through substitute Tallon in the 78th minute, but India held on to register their second win in the three practice matches they have played so far in Spain.