Group B includes India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, while Group A includes the hosts, Maldives, and Pakistan.
Shuvendu Panda, head coach of India’s national under-19 team, on Friday unveiled the 23-member roster for the SAFF U-19 Championship, which gets underway on September 21 in Kathmandu. The team flew early on Friday to Saudi Arabia for an exposure and training camp, from which they will depart on September 19 for the capital of Nepal. While Group A includes the hosts, Maldives, and Pakistan, Group B includes India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
Top teams from both groups advance to the semifinals following a single round-robin group stage. September 30 is the day of the championship game.
India hosted the competition in the Under-20 division the previous year and beat Bangladesh 5-2 to win.
The U-19 division of the competition was only before played in 2015 in Nepal, where the hosts overcame India on penalties following a 1-1 tie in regulation time.
Goalkeepers for the Indian team are Lionel Daryl Rymmei, Divyaj Dhaval Thakkar, and Manjot Singh Parmar.
A Siba Prasad, Manabir Basumatary, Surajkumar Singh Ngangbam, Ricky Meetei, Thomas Kanamoottil Cherian, Jahangir Ahmad Shagoo, and others served as defenders.
Yash Chikro, Manglentheng Kipgen, Ishaan Shishodia, Arjun Singh Oinam, Ebindas Yesudasan, Raja Harijan, and Thumsol Tongsin are all midfielders.
Forwards include Dinesh Singh Soubam, Kelvin Singh Taorem, Linky Meitei Chabungbam, Gwgwmsar Goyary, Sahil Khurshid, and Naoba Meitei.
