Sidoarjo (Indonesia), Jan 23 The India U20 men's team will begin their campaign in the Mandiri U20 Challenge Series, a four-nation friendly tournament, against Syria at the Gelora Delta Stadium here on Friday. Head coach Biby Thomas and his 23-member squad of youngsters, consisting mainly of under-17 and under-18 players, arrived in their team hotel in the city of Surabaya on Wednesday morning and held their first training session in the evening at the Gelora Stadium.
India will meet Jordan on January 27 and host Indonesia on January 30. The tournament will be a mountain to climb for the Blue Colts, who are the youngest lot among the four participating teams.
Syria, Jordan, and Indonesia are using these friendlies to prepare for next month's AFC U20 Asian Cup with 2005-born players. Thomas has 2007 and 2008-born players at his disposal for the Indonesia tour. This batch is preparing for the SAFF U19 Championship to be held from May 8 to 18, 2025.
But there's no lack of international experience in the Indian team. A dozen of the 23 were part of the India U17 squad that won the SAFF U17 Championship 2024 in Bhutan and narrowly missed their spot in the AFC U17 Asian Cup in the qualifiers in Thailand last year.
Midfielder Gurnaj Singh Grewal, at 18, the oldest member of the squad, and Malemngamba Singh Thokchom represented India at the AFC U17 Asian Cup in 2023 and the SAFF U20 Championship last year.
Thokchom also played in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers. On the other hand, there are a few names who have been included in the national team for the first time -- defender Afinmon Baiju, goalkeeper Alsabith Sulaiman Thekkekaramel, midfielder Jajo Prashan, and forward Sujin S.
Syria have arrived in Indonesia in good form. They sealed qualification for the AFC U20 Asian Cup with four wins in four - beating Bangladesh 4-0, Bhutan 1-0, Guam 10-1 and Vietnam 1-0. Ahead of the Mandiri U20 Challenge Series, Syria played three friendly matches in Qatar against the hosts, Yemen and Uzbekistan, drawing 0-0 in all three.
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