The AIFF XI (India U-16), represented by the All India Football Federation’s U-16 Regional Academy boys based in Kalyani, West Bengal, lost 0-1 to Timor Leste U-16 national team in a Group A Asian Champions Trophy encounter in Timor on Saturday.

Cornellis Portela scored the only goal of the match in the 82nd minute to seal the win for the hosts.

Courtesy to the result, the AIFF XI slip to fifth position while Timor move up a rung to fourth.

The boys, who were coming on the back of a confidence boosting a 2-1 triumph over higher placed Frenz United Indonesia in their last match, had some good chances to score but a resilient Timor defense kept their rivals at bay.

The hosts, who were humbled to a 9-0 defeat in their last match against Harimau Muda U-16, sat deep in their own half for the better of the match with their counterparts three pronged attacking line keeping them on tenterhooks.

With the match eight minutes from fulltime, the hosts got their reward for their gritty defending with Portela bundling in a cross from the right on the break.

AIFF XI play Timor Leste next at home next Saturday (July 19) which will be the last home match for the boys in blue.

(Report & Picture courtesy AIFF Media)