A nine-man India U-20 National Team went down 0-2 against local club side Murcia U-20 in their opening match of the COTIF Tournament (Torneo Internacional de Fútbol Sub-20 de L’Alcúdia) in Valencia, Spain on July 29, 2018. Anwar Ali and Jitendra Singh were given marching orders in the second half.

However, it was as early as the 4th minute that Murcia U-20 were reduced to ten-man for a rash foul on Boris Singh. But hey converted directly from a free-kick in the 27th minute to take the lead.

The Indian colts had a glorious opportunity to restore parity in the 39th minute. But Abhijit Sarkar failed to make the most of the opportunity after he was set in the clear by Boris.

Changing over, the Indians suffered two jolts as both the central defenders were given marching orders. First, Anwar Ali was flashed the red in the 56th minute, and as if it wasn’t enough, Jitendra was red-carded in the 65th minute.

Murcia eventually made it 2-0 in the 80th minute, a lead which they managed to hold on till the end.

The Indian U-20 National Team will face the Mauritania U-20 National Team from Africa next on July 31, 2018.

(AIFF Media)

The #Indian U20 National Team are on the field.#BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia pic.twitter.com/BsDQinwAhM

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) 29. Juli 2018