India Sports Tribune

From early uncertainty to a composed finish, India extended a run that has now defined their U-17 identity. India did not step into these U-17 qualifiers with the weight of expectation behind them.

Across the early matches, the campaign moved in fits and starts, leaving the team hovering somewhere between promise and vulnerability. But as the group tightened and the margins narrowed, India found the clarity they had been missing. 

Opening against Palestine: Control without penetration

India’s campaign began cautiously with a 1–1 draw against Palestine, a match that showcased defensive organisation but lacked incisiveness. Shubham Poonia’s equaliser came from one of the few well-constructed passages of play, yet India rarely passed the ball cleanly through midfield. The draw kept India stable but did little to reveal the team’s ceiling or attacking fluency.

Chinese Taipei: The first real glimpse of identity

The 3–0 win against Chinese Taipei provided the clearest picture of India’s potential. This match showed the team operating in a more coherent structure: pressing with intent, rotating more confidently through midfield, and progressing the ball into advanced areas with greater conviction.

Captain Dallalmuon Gangte’s hat-trick was the emblem of the improved attacking rhythm. India also defended transitions with precision, maintaining composure and balance throughout the match. It was the first performance that suggested they could shape the group on their terms.

Lebanon: A setback of execution, not structure

The defeat to Lebanon disrupted their rhythm but did not expose systemic problems. India struggled with second-ball recovery and tempo control, issues tied more to execution than tactics.

The loss tightened the group significantly, reducing India’s margin for error. Crucially, coach Bibiano Fernandes resisted dramatic tactical shifts, which was a decision that allowed the team to reset rather than overcorrect.

Iran: Tactical composure in a must-win situation

Everything hinged on the final game against group leaders Iran, who needed only a draw. India, meanwhile, required a win to progress via head-to-head statistics. Despite conceding first, India maintained structural discipline.

Gangte’s equaliser from the spot restored balance without forcing India to abandon their plan. The winning goal was a composed finish from Gunleiba Singh. India’s game management in the closing stages was arguably their most assured spell of the campaign, reflecting both tactical clarity and mental stability.

Bibiano’s system: The foundation behind four successful cycles

This qualification reinforces the durability of Bibiano Fernandes’ methodology. Across four cycles – 2018, 2020, 2023 and now 2026, his teams have relied on clarity of roles, tactical consistency and steady profiles.

The Blue Colts have consistently shown their ability to intelligently navigate different stages of a game. This consistency is rare in Indian football and remains the foundation of India’s youth-level reliability.

A reliable pathway in an uncertain landscape

While the senior national team continues to struggle for stability, the U-17s have become India’s most dependable international unit. This qualification did not come from dominance; it came from a refusal to break when the campaign tightened.

It came from a group of teenagers who walked into a must-win encounter against the favourites and played with a composure the senior side has too often lacked. And at the centre of it stands Fernandes, whose four-cycle streak now represents the most reliable pattern in Indian football.

At a time when the senior team has been struggling to hold its footing in Asia, the U-17s offered the opposite: structure under stress, belief under pressure, and a performance that showed exactly what a functioning system can produce.

If the senior level reflects India’s shortcomings, this qualification reminds us of its possibilities. The U-17s didn’t just qualify, they showed what Indian football can look like when the moment demands courage instead of excuses.

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