India will begin their AFC Under-16 championship campaign against United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Nehru Stadium, Margao on Thursday. India, who are hosting the tournament for the first time, will be looking to put up an impressive show in a tough group that pits them alongside UAE, Iran and Saudi Arabia, all of whom have had senior team represent Asia in the World Cup finals.
The four semi-finalists out of the 16 teams competing at the AFC Under-16 championship will qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, to be hosted by India next year. Should India finish in the top four, then a playoff will determine the fifth place and that country will also make it to the World Cup next year.
Head coach Nicolai Adam has said that his team is ready, following a tour of Europe through the summer where they played a number of matches against youth teams of clubs in countries such as Germany, Luxembourg and Norway.
"It is a big step forward towards preparation for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017," Adam was quoted saying by AIFF Media. "I have always wanted to play strong teams -- the better the opponent, the faster is the development of the players. The quality of the matches played during the exposure tours are at an entirely different level. The boys came up with promising performances and it didn't happen by accident; rather it pointed to the fact that the boys have the potential to compete at the top level."
India's other two group matches are against Saudi Arabia on September 18 and Iran on September 21. All matches kick off at 7pm, and there will be free entry at the Nehru Stadium.
This is India's seventh appearance at this tournament. In the 2002, they had made the quarterfinals, where they were beaten 3-1 by South Korea.