India U20 men to face Singapore in 2 friendlies

The Indian U20 football team will play two international friendly matches against Singapore behind closed doors here. On August 3 and 6 as part of its preparations for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers. The two matches will be played at the Centre for Sports Excellence here, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in a release on Friday.

India and Singapore have met twice earlier in official U20 men’s competitions, in the AFC Youth Championship. India won both matches; a 4-1 victory in 1966 was followed by a penalty shootout triumph in the quarterfinals during their title-winning campaign in 1974.

The two sides also played a pair of U19 international friendlies in Goa in 2017, with India winning the first 7-2 before Singapore claiming the second 1-0.

In the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers, the Blue Colts, under head coach Mahesh Gawali, will face Syria (August 31), Uzbekistan (September 3), and Bangladesh (September 6) in Tashkent.