Hello and welcome to the highlights of
India's clash against Sweden in the final of the U-17 Women's Football Tournament in Mumbai. I'm
Lavanya and thanks for joining me through this game this evening.
Thank you for joining us in the coverage of this U-17 Tri-Nation Series. Despite the heartbreak for the girls in blue, there was some heartening football on show here in Mumbai over the last few days. Stick around for a few minutes as ISL action returns with
Jamshedpur FC taking on Mumbai City FC . My colleague Shivansh will take you through that game. That's all from the Mumbai Football Arena folks, goodbye and goodnight.
Sweden's
Elin Svahn gets the best keeper award.
Indian skipper
Hemam Shilky Devi is adjudged the most promising player of the tournament
Sweden's
Evelina Duljan is the MVP of the tournament. She starred today with agoal as well.
Sweden's
Monica Jusu Bah is the tournament's highest scorer.
FT: Sweden 4 - 0 India
There goes the full-time whistle and Sweden has won this Tri-Nation Cup Final against India to lift the trophy. There is a yellow huddle in the middle of the field and rightly so. The 4-0 win saw the best of Sweden's attack and defense on show. India should not lose heart, the positives from this tournament are aplenty - the pacy trio right at the front, solid defensive options in Jyoti Kumari, Manju and Hemam and the ability to mould their pace and possession play according to the opponent should be lauded. For now though, the evening belongs to the girls in yellow and the Johanna Renmark marks the win with a backflip for the crowd.
90' India had a good chance there with Sai staring the ball with just enough space to manage a shot. The Indian strikers are too slow, especially in front of a team like Sweden, when it comes to thinking quickly and firing shots out. The girls are doing very well to get possession and run the ball into the box, but the finishes are not able to match up to that kind of quality.
Three minutes added to the second half here in Mumbai.
89'
Marwa presses with a shot in the centre just outside the box, but it finds Manju who flicks it over the crossbar. Nicely done but corner for Sweden.
87'
Under three minutes left of regulation time. Hemam has starred in the last few minutes, with some good defending coming off it, with Priyangka Devi there to help as well.
82' Substitution (Sweden) Monica comes off, in comes Ellika Holmberg
81'
Sai and Daisy combined to make space to accommodate a possible cross from Sunita. Sunita can't manage to position that ball and its an opportunity squandered right by the goal.
80'
Monica has had a good game this evening and a good tournament as such. She has scored in every one of the three games in this tournament.
79' Substitution (India) and it's a like-for-like replacement with Sumati giving way for Sunita Munda
78'
Sai Sankhe has been managing to dispossess players really well, a positive for the Blue Tigresses.
78' Substitution (Sweden): Hannah Wijk off, Anna Petterson comes in. Daisy is also in the middle here
, to aid Sai Sankhe.
We are speaking of this as an exposure experience and that India should look at this an opportunity to experience and learn to adapt to a higher level of football. But another important takeaway has to be this crowd that is cheering its players on even though the side is looking at a Herculean 4-goal deficit.
74'
Marwa comes in and tries to get into the thick of things here in Mumbai. But her attempt to get through to the goal goes wide off the far post and its a corner for Sweden. Fiona takes the kick, but her shot goes wide too and the Indians defend well. Sai gets the ball on the counter but the Swedes know best and retain possession.
71' Substitution (India) Kiran comes off, Lisham Devi comes in. This is her debut game.
70' GOAAAAL!
Monica wanted a goal to her name and she manages that. This is a shame, India has had a very good second half but this will mar that a little. 4-0 to Sweden.
Two out of the three goalscorers have been substituted here.
66' Substitution (Sweden): Rusul out, Marwa Saeed comes in.
This is an attacking change for the Swedes. The side wants another goal here.
Matilda comes off, Fiona Eriksson comes in. Also, Evelina comes off, and will be replaced by Johanna Renmark.
62' Substitution (India): Mariyammal out, Nisha in.
She's had a good game today, Mariyammal, moulding herself into striking and defense positions today as the coach has needed. But she looks like she's done for the day and Dennerby gets her out.
61' OVER THE CROSS BAR!
Costly costly miss for Sweden, Matilda kicks that too high and the ball safely flies over the top of the goal. Sweden could have gone up by another goal but no damage done. Yet.
59' PENALTY CALL. India loses the ball way to quickly, Sweden on the counter runs down with the ball against the run of play. And Astom follows Rusul who has the ball and can't time her tackle and brings down Rusul in the box. Penalty to Sweden. Mathilda to take the kick.
56' Substitution (India) Sai Sankhe in, Jyoti Kumari out. Attacking change here from Dennerby, reducing India to three at the back
55'
India has been better in this half. Oh Mariyammal manages a beautiful cross to Sumati. She runs down with the ball down the middle but the Swedish defense comes in the way. India has not managed good passes when it matters the most.
53' Substitution (India): Kritina Devi out, Priyangka Devi in. Sai Sankhe is also warming up on the sidelines.
49'
India has managed to get some possession in the last few minutes. There's good coordination happening between Thokcom and Kritina, Sumati and Lynda up front. Lynda even has a shot at goal but the Swedish defense manages to thwart the danger away. This has been a confident couple of minutes for India. The Blue Tigresses need to keep it going that way and then slowly press for a goal. The key is possession at this point and the strikers need to back each other.
46'
India seems a little lazy in the final third. The side's pace needs to increase if it has to keep up with what the Swedes are managing at the other end.
And we're back with action from the second half. Hope you all had time to take a breather. The money bags are rolling in the
IPL auction .
Head over and check out our LIVE blog of the event.
Half-time update:
Nothing comes of the added time. At half-time, Sweden leads India 3-0, with Evelina, Elma and Rusul finding their names on the scoresheet. India has not managed to find any kind of useful passage of possession in this half with Sweden playing the game in the Indian half. There are positives. Jyoti Kumari has been good in the Indian backline. The Swedes are too quick for her but she has put in the work to try and save India any further blushes this half. Lynda Kom has been good up front too, but she has very little assistance and with Sweden playing on the offense from the word go, shouldering goal-scoring responsibilities is getting hard for Kom. Sumati has been kept in check and hence Dennerby's pace trio isn't able to exact the damage it did against Thailand in this game
Two minutes added to the first-half
44' Matilda gets a cross in from the left. Rusul is the one the kick is targeted to on the right but the ball flies over the top of the net. We have barely seen the Indians even getting a kick in the last 10-odd minutes or so. Possession play here from Sweden. And as I speak, Thokchom and Sumati have the ball and get the ball down to the box but the Swedish defence intercepts and kicks of the ball away.
43'
Free kick to Sweden. Kicked off too wide over the top by Matilda.
India has options on the bench. Sai Sankhe, Daisy can manage the scoring. Sunita Munda is another pace option along the midfield. So the host has alternatives to fall back on, but what will help them counter the attacking brand of football on show here from the Swedes?
39'
The pace has fallen particularly in the Indian half. The game is being played on one end of the field and no prizes to guess which one. India will just want to get through till half-time without conceding again.
36'
The ball barely gets into the Swedish half but when it does, Lynda finds herself all alone up front. This can't be India's strategy.
33'
India has managed its first corner of the game. India needs to be sharper on its set pieces. Kiran to take it. There is one Indian player in the box with everyone else standing by the D. Kiran's long pass goes towards the far post and even the Swedes don't get to it. Wasteful. India needs to be smarter here in Mumbai, if that 3-0 lead needs to be scaled down.
31'
Matilda comes down the box, there are three Indians around her including the keeper. Manju has her eyes on the ball but a defender gets to it before she needs to. Matilda just couldn't find that sweet spot to middle that ball right. Manju will be relieved.
29' Substitution (Sweden): Sarah Eriksson out. Emilia Jansson
27'
Sweden looks comfortable now, the pace has trickled down, albeit very marginally. There's water going around. Crowds are still cheering the girls on. Can India make a comeback? It's a huge lead to recover from. Can they manage to find the back of the net?
19'
Monica wants a goal to her name and sprints down the box but her shot is collected safely by Manju.
18' GOAAAAL. Evelina
outmuscles Hemam in the box and comes in with a sublime finish from the right into the left corner. Manju is down, but there's nothing she can do to stop that ball. 3-0 in Sweden's favour here in Mumbai.
15' GOAAAAL. Elma
manages a lovely header in a crowded box to slot the ball into the net to double Sweden's lead. Rusul assists. She now has a goal and assist this game. And they're pushing now for the third.
14'
Matilda shows some good pace to get the ball on the counter and bring it down almost single-handedly into the box. There are three Indian defenders around her and she has beaten them all and she has a clear shot at the goal, Manju looking on, angled to the left, but a blue jersey has come in the way and kicked the ball to avoid any damages
12'
Sweden is doing at the start what Thailand learnt to do eventually in the last game. Whenever the ball goes to Sumati, a yellow and black bottleneck forms around her, giving her no room to try and wriggle the ball out to her compatriots.
11'
Kritina beats the Swedish backline and comes down the box, but the goalkeeper Elin comes out of her line to ensure no damage is done.
10'
Hemam does well to chest the ball and string it along to Sumati who tries to get the ball into the Swedish end. Kritina gets the ball and tries to get it into the box but the Swedish defence is not porous.
7'
Another effort, Emilia this time. Flies over the crossbar though and Manju's eyes follow the ball as it glides over the woodwork. Sweden is making this look a little too easy. The Indian girls are struggling to maintain possession which is probably the first issue facing the girls in blue.
6'
Pace. Monica manages to easily dribble past Jyoti and Poornima to get a shot at the goal. Straight into Manju's arms, but the bottomline here is that Sweden is currently dictating how this game goes on.
4' GOAAAL.
The Swedish strikeline comes in with full force and we have our first goal of the evening. Rusul Rosa Kafaji manages to slot the ball neatly from just outside the box into the left corner. 1-0 to Sweden. The girls in yellow have a tendency to run away with games, especially with this kind of momentum. Is this game going to follow the script?
2' Slow start so far. Anyone missing the intensity from the Thailand game? India has chosen to go with a powerful strikeline. Sunita Munda will warm the bench for a while but we know Dennerby has plans for her. Can this side manage to stifle the Swedish strikeline?
0' Kick-off! The IPL may be hogging the news today but we also have an interesting game on our hands this evening here at the Mumbai Football Arena.
5:28pm Time for the national anthem.
LINE-UPs:
India XI:
Jyoti Kumari, Purnima Kumari, Hemam Shilky Devi (C), Thokchom Martina, Kiran, Lynda Kom, Sumati Kumari, Astam Oraon, B Mariyammal, Thounaojam Kritina Devi, Manju Ganjhu
Subs:
Anshika, Nisha, Aveka Singh, Sunita Munda, Tanu, Amisha Baxla, Sai Sankhe, Daisy Lisa Crasto, Naorem Priyangka Devi, Phnjoubam Nirmala Devi, Lisham Babina Devi
Sweden XI:
Elin Hanna Maria Svahn, Hanna Maria Wijk, Saga Lovisa Carlsson, Johanna Elin Svedberg, Elma Novah Juntilla Nelhage (C), Emilia Charlotte Bengtsson, Evelina Pirjo Jovanka Duljan, Matilda Liv Vinberg, Rusul Rosa Kafaji, Monica Jusu Bah, Sara Mandgalena Eriksson
Subs: Lisa Margit Maria Wahlberg, Anna Evelina Maria Pettersson, Elin Anna Linnea Sjostrom, Emelie Maria Jansson, Marwa Said, Johanna Anna Maria Renmark, Fiona Hannele Eriksson, Ida Nadine Andersson Weidenberg, Ellika Maria Holmberg
The Indian defense looked confident against Thailand but it will need to maintain a higher level of momentum to keep up with the Swedes. Can the side manage to pull off a win today? Stay with us to find out.
From Indian Men's national team gaffer Igor Stimac and players, current and former, to the AIFF President Praful Patel, wishes of luck have poured in for the young girls as they take on Sweden in the U-17 Tournament final this evening.
Match details
Sweden U-17 vs India U-17 will be played in the Mumbai Football Arena. The kick-off is at 5.30 PM IST and the match will be streamed live by the Indian Football Team page on Facebook. If you're in the middle of a commute, still at work, or just unable to sit down and watch the game, we're here to help with LIVE updates from the big final.
Match preview:
The U-17 Women’s Football Tournament, supported by AFC Assist and conducted by the All India Football Federation, is the first of a series of competitive experiences designed to prepare the girls for the FIFA World Cup Women U-17 2020 in India.
One goal credited in the scoresheet after two league matches (against Sweden and Thailand) does not speak much about the India Under-17 girls’ finishing capacity.
Three goals conceded (all scored by Sweden) is no embarrassment either to the collective defensive work done by the home side.
The final face-off against the Swedes at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday evening can be viewed as an opportunity for the Shilky Devi-captained squad to show how far they can learn from mistakes. Some of the areas the team would be looking to improve would be the possession of ball approaching the goalmouth and continuation of impressive work in the backline supported by goalkeeper Manju Ganjhu.
Chief coach Thomas Dennerby is fortunate to have the raw material to work with straightaway: intelligent defenders, hard-working midfielders, tearaway wingers and a no-frills goalkeeper. They are all ready and willing to be moulded into a cracking combination by November 2020 when the curtain goes up.
The display over two matches by the Indian probables was a mix of endurance and elegance, speed and skill.
The deciding tie against Sweden will offer the third and final chance for the home team's first-choice probables. Maverick strikers like Lynda Kom, Sumati Kumari, Sunita Munda no longer carry the surprise element. India's lightning counter-attacks from almost the centreline deep into rival territory is a thrilling spectacle.
Tournament recap:
India, Thailand and Sweden are playing a tri-nation tournament in Mumbai - in preparation for next year's home FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. That this is new coach Thomas Dennerby's debut tournament with the Indian side explains the spotlight on this tournament in particular. India lost its tie against Sweden 0-3, but came back with a thrilling 1-0 win over Thailand in its final round-robin clash in the series. The Blue Tigresses will now meet Sweden again in the final of the friendly tournament.
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