How can India qualify for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup?

The Blue Colts now have hosts Laos to beat at the Lao National Stadium KM16 on Sunday, September 29, 2024, to stand a chance to qualify for the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025.

India U-20 side in action during the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media

The India U-20 men’s national team is on the brink of history, though it is not quite there yet. The last time it played in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup final rounds (formerly known as the AFC Youth Championship and the AFC U19 Championship) was back in 2006 when it hosted the tournament.

For successful qualification campaigns, one would have to go further back – to 2004 when Turkmenistan’s withdrawal from the tournament meant that India, which had finished second in qualification Group H, got the chance to compete, or back to 2002, when it topped its qualifying group to make it to the final rounds.

India is also the former champions of the Asian Youth Championship which it shared with Iran in Bangkok in 1974 after a 2-2 stalemate in the final.

The Blue Colts now have host Laos to beat at the Lao National Stadium KM16 on Sunday, September 29, 2024, to stand a chance to qualify for the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025. The match will kick off at 5.30 PM IST and will be streamed live on the LAOFF TV YouTube channel.

India currently stands second in Group G behind Iran on Friday. The top team from each qualification group and the five best second-placed finishers from the 10 groups will qualify for the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025.

While the Blue Colts put in a sturdy performance against the four-time champion Iran on Friday, an 88th-minute goal left India heartbroken.

India head coach Ranjan Chaudhuri was full of praise for his wards, “Our boys played a tremendous game against one of the best sides in Asia, and that makes me proud. They did everything correctly, and executed all the plans to perfection, but when you play a top side like Iran, one small chance could be all it takes for them to make a difference.

“But this is not the end for us. We have one last game against Laos, and a win will put us in a great position to qualify. We must think ahead,” said Chaudhuri.

Such was the performance put in by the Blue Colts, that Iran U20 head coach Hossein Abdi was full of praises for India. “We knew India were a good side, but they proved their mettle against us throughout the game. We had the rub of the green in the end, but full credit to the India players for the way they executed their plans on the pitch,” said Abdi.

Host Laos, on the other hand, has bounced back from its 0-8 defeat at the hands of Iran and posted a 6-0 victory against Mongolia on Friday night. While India is still ahead in terms of goal difference, Chaudhuri is all too aware of how important it is to get the three points against the host.

“The Laos game is crucial for us. They are the hosts, and the match is on a Sunday, so I am sure they will have good support from the stands,” he said. “I am not thinking much about the permutations and combinations at this point. First and foremost, we need to win and then take it on from there.

Laos U20 head coach Jung Jae-kwon from the Republic of Korea also spoke about the home advantage, pinning his side’s hopes on encouragement from the stands.

“This is our home, so I expect a good amount of support for us. We know India are a very good team, and we have to be at our best to beat them,” said Jae-kwon.