Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the AFC U-16 Championship quarterfinal encounter between India and South Korea.
Here's the match report.
That's the full time whistle . Both the South Korean and Indian players are on their knees. India's World Cup qualification dream comes to an end after the 1-0 loss. This was an once in a lifetime opportunity for the Indian boys and they held their own against the mighty South Koreans.
Three minutes of added time.
90' Vikram Pratap makes his way into the box on the right side but he runs out of room to make the cross.
87' India has opted for route one football here but unfortunately for them, they have failed to find their teammates.
83' Hong Y. S cuts inside to take a shot at goal but Niraj is right behind it. India is still in this match with less than 10 minutes to go.
81' A chipped ball into Korea's box is just out of reach for Bhuvnesh Shendre.
74' Vikram Pratap blasts it wide from the right side, India's second shot in the match.
72' Second change for India. Lalchhanhima Sailo comes on for Givson.
68' GOAL for South Korea! The breakthrough comes for South Korea after its relentless pressure. Niraj once again gets his fingertip to a low shot but this time Jeong Sang-Bin is on hand to slot home the rebound.
65' Ridge goes down inside the box after Niraj clashes into him from a corner kick.
Japan, Australia and Tajikistan have booked their berths in the semifinals. Who will be the fourth team?
62' Second change for South Korea. Seo Jae-min is replaced by Jo Jin-ho.
58' India not committing too many bodies forward which makes it difficult for South Korea to threaten on the counter.
56' Seong's free-kick from 30-yards out curls away from the goal.
52' Where did that come from?! India nearly gets the opening goal against the run of play. Givson controls the ball with his chest before unleashing a powerful shot on goal. Shin-Song somehow manages to keep the ball from going into the net.
46' The second half is underway.
Change for South Korea. Jeong Sang-bin comes on for Kim Ryun-Seong
South Korea has scored 12 goals from its three group stage matches while not conceding a goal.
45' India finishes the half on a positive note. Ravi Bahadur Rana's shot from distance stings Shin Song-Hoon's gloves! And that's the half-time. India is yet to concede a goal in 315 minutes of football in the tournament. Bibiano Fernandes would no doubt be pleased with that defensive display.
45' Hong Song-Wook clatters into Ridge Melvin near the touchline. The South Korean earns himself a booking with that challenge.
45' One minute of added time and India defends another corner.
44' Seventh corner for South Korea already which once again comes to nothing. None for India so far.
39' It's all South Korea here in Kuala Lumpur. India finding it hard to construct a move which could threaten the opposition.
36' That was so close to the opening goal. Choi-Min Seo's left-footed shot is pushed away by a fingertip save from Niraj.
33' The resulting corner goes wide of the far post.
33' Kim Ryun-Seong's shot from the left is deflected narrowly away from goal for a corner.
30' First foul of the match from South Korea on India's captain Vikram Pratap.
28' Indian defenders are not giving the South Koreans the room to take free shots at goal here. South Koreans finding it hard to play through India's defensive block.
20' S. Hong takes a shot from outside the box after cutting inside. His shot, however, is wide.
14' South Korean forwards queuing up in India's box to take shots on goal. Bodies on the line defending from India. Goalkeeper Niraj Kumar has already made a couple of good saves already. Can India withstand the pressure?
10' South Korea pegging India back in its own half after India's good start. A shooting chance from inside the box is deflected for a corner for South Korea.
5' India has looked the most threatening in the early exchanges. Winning the ball in midfield, it has marauded forward on a couple of occasions, but not managed to put together a meaningful move in the final third.
1' South Korea gets us underway, playing from left to right in the first half.
We're ready for kick-off! Plenty at stake for India, which can seal its place in next year's Under-17 World Cup with a victory tonight.
Here are the starting lineups for the evening:
Ninety minutes and South Korea separate the India U-16 national team from qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019 in Peru.
On Monday, Bibiano Fernandes' boys must overcome the tournament's strongest team in the quarterfinal of the AFC U-16 championship, to secure automatic qualification to the U-17 World Cup for the first time. It's a deja-vu fixture for India U-16, which reached the same stage of the tournament 16 years ago but lost 1-3 to the same opponent.
Much like the current team, the Indian side banked on its defensive doggedness to reach the knockout stage and was able to hold its lines against a superior forward line for the first 45 minutes. However, a 50th minute goal from Young Chol Shin opened the flood gates for Korea, with Woo Seok Choi adding two more in 61st and 72nd minutes.
Midfielder Jerry Zirsanga found the back of the net in the 82nd minute to offer India some late respite. READ MORE HERE| 16 years on, India faces same nemesis
Here are three Indian players who could play a key role in Monday's must-win encounter against South Korea.
1) Vikram Partap Singh : The Indian skipper has led the team from the front and has scored India's only goal at the tournament so far. It was his surging run against Iran that won him a penalty, which he duly converted.
He will look to combine well up front with Ridge De’Mello to try and get past the dogged South Korean defence, which is yet to concede a goal.
FULL STORY HERE| Players who could turn things around for India
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