The ten man under 20 football team has done India proud by defeating the the six time U20 world cup champions – Argentina – in the Sunday night COTIF Cup game in Spain.
Deepak Tangri (4th minute) and Anwar Ali (68th min) were the stars for the Indian U-20 team. Back home the team has been congratulated by many including the sports minister.
WELL DONE @IndianFootball U-20 team!
As the nation slept, our champs made history by defeating Argentina 2-1 in @Cotif! This is a sure sign that India’s sporting future is in very safe hands. #INDvARG #BackTheBlue
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 6, 2018
The track record of this team in the tournament before the match on Sunday was nothing to write home about – 0-2 to Murcia, 0-3 to Mauritania and goalless draw by Venezuela.
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“This victory will definitely earn Indian football more respect in the world of football. It opens up a window of opportunity to test ourselves against the best in the world on a regular basis,” Floyd Pinto, the coach of the India U 20, said after the match, according to reports.
India were reduced to 10 men after forward Jadhav was shown the red card in the 54th minute for a bad foul.
With Argentina trying to make inroads, India goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill pulled off a couple of brilliant saves in the 56th minute and another with his fingertips in the 61st minute.
India continued to look for another goal which came of a free-kick taken by Anwar Ali in the 68th minute giving a 2-0 lead.
This win comes weeks after national coach Stephen Constantine criticised the Indian team’s performance at the U-17 World Cup, describing it as mediocre and the hype surrounding it as unjustified.
The Indian team was also not allowed to participate in the Asian Games after being denied clearance by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).