Rejuvenated india

AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi: With the group finely poised and qualification hopes very much alive, the India U17 men’s team will take on Lebanon in a pivotal AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Group D encounter on Friday, at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad.

India come into this fixture on the back of a spirited and impressive 3-1 comeback win against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday. Captain Dallalmuon Gangte delivered one of the standout performances of the Qualifiers so far, scoring a magnificent hat-trick that lifted the Blue Colts to four points from two matches. The victory was India’s first of the campaign, following their 1-1 draw against Palestine in the opening round. They are now level on points with Iran, behind only on goal difference. IR Iran will face Palestine on Friday at 16:30.

Lebanon, meanwhile, have been one of the most resilient teams in the group. They have drawn all three of their matches so far (0-0 vs Chinese Taipei, 1-1 vs Palestine, and 1-1 vs IR Iran). Their result against Iran, in particular, underlined their organisation and consistency, as they fought back with a second-half equaliser from Eyad Eid to claim a valuable point.