India brightened its chances of qualifying for the AFC Under-16 football championship by beating Lebanon 3-0 at Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
The 3-0 win brightens the team’s chances of qualifying for the AFC under-16 Asian championship to be held next year
NEW DELHI: India brightened its chances of qualifying for the AFC Under-16 football championship by beating Lebanon 3-0 at Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
Deepak Devrani found the net twice while Manandeep scored once to seal victory at the Prince Saud Bin Jelawi Stadium on Thursday.
Lebanon had been India’s bugbear in recent times with the national team winning in the first round of World Cup qualifiers and Lebanese club Al Nejmeh getting the better of city giants Mahindra United in the AFC Cup quarterfinals.
But the Indian youngsters prevailed in a match that saw two Lebanese sent off.
Substitute Omar El Kurdi got a direct red card in the 76th minute while Hadi Sahmarani got two yellow cards in the 85th and 91st minutes before being served the marching orders.
Deepak gave India an early lead in the ninth minute with Manandeep adding a goal in the 47th. Deepak scored his second in the 64th minute.
India now have seven points from three matches in Group C having beaten Sri Lanka 6-0 and drawn with Iraq 2-2 in their previous matches.
They next play Saudi Arabia on November 4 and Bhutan on November 7 in a bid to qualify for the AFC
U-16 championship to be held next year. The hosts lead the group after winning their first three matches while Iraq is second after routing Bhutan 11-0.
The victory was all the more sweet considering the fact that Lebanon had put India’s 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign off the track despite the latter holding the former out for a 2-2 draw in the home leg last week. Lebanon had won the opening leg 4-1
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