New Delhi, May 1 (). India Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Bibiano Fernandes on Friday announced a 23-member squad for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup 2026 to be held in Saudi Arabia. ‘Blue Colts’ (Indian team) are currently in Doha (Qatar), where they played two friendly matches with Qatar. This team will leave for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 3.
India has been included in ‘Group-D’ along with Australia and Uzbekistan. The Indian team will play Australia on 6th May and Uzbekistan on 10th May. The fourth team of this group, Republic of Korea has withdrawn its name from the tournament. In such a situation, now it is left a group of three teams.
The top-2 teams from this group will reach the quarter-finals, which will also ensure qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026.
Meanwhile, the Indian Under-17 men’s team has played several friendly matches as part of its preparations for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026. Recently, India Under-17 team played two friendly matches against UAE in Samut Prakan, Thailand on April 17 and 21. India won the first friendly match 1–0, but lost the next match 1–5.
Earlier, in March, Bibiano Fernandes’ team played three friendly matches against Thailand (2-2 draw), Indonesia (3-0 win) and Republic of Korea (1-2 loss) in Lopburi, Thailand. After these matches, the ‘Blue Colts’ continued their training camp in Kolkata.
Indian squad for AFC U-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026:
Goalkeepers: Alok Nishad, Manashjyoti Barua, Rajroop Sarkar.
Defenders: Abhishek Kumar Mandal, Indra Rana Magar, Koru Meitei Konthoujam, Lomsangjuala, Leswin Rebelo, MD Aiman Bin, Shubham Punia.
Midfielders: Dallalmuon Gangte, Denny Singh Wangkhem, Diamond Singh Thokchom, Musa Ashiq Sofi, Nitishkumar Meitei Yengkhom.
Forward: Adil Aman A, Azlan Shah, Gunleiba Wangkheerakpam, Hiranganba Seram, Rahan Ahmed, Raj Singh Wahengbam, Washington Singh Ngangom, Yuvraj Kadam.
—
rsg
