FIFA U-17 World Cup: A close look at Indian Goalkeepers

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New Delhi, Oct 7: India, who have been merely a minnow in World Football so far, created history as they made their debut in a FIFA event against the formidable USA in a group match of the U-17 World Cup, which began here on Friday (October 6).

India qualified automatically for the event as hosts and have prepared well with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sending the players for training tours in Europe and a tournament in Mexico but the home side are the clear underdogs.

The young Indian side played bravely against a physically dominant and experienced US team but ended up losing the game by 3-0. But everyone was impressed with the way goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh defended his territory and denied any success to the US side till the 29th minute, before a penalty kick gave the visitors a lead.

Let us take time to know the team’s goalkeepers.

Dheeraj Singh

The first name on Luis Norton de Matos's team-sheet, Dheeraj Singh, is the most experienced player in the side with 42 international caps.

The Manipur lad has been with the national team since 2013 and won the U-16 SAFF Championship in the same year.

During the AFC U-16 Championship last year, Dheeraj kept India in the mix by saving two penalties in two games and gave a wonderful account of himself when India held Chile 1-1 during the four-nation tournament in Mexico.

Born in Moirang in Manipur, the Indian first-choice custodian is also a pretty good badminton player and loves the game.

Prabhusukhan Gill

Gill can also play as a central defender and has often played in that position during his younger days. He is now settled under the bar and we can expect him to start either of three group stage games.

A Punjabi boy, Gill took his footballing lessons at the Chandigarh Football Academy. He was relegated to the reserves once upon a time but worked his way back to the first team.

Sunny Dhaliwal

Sunny is the tallest player of the side and also was the last name to be registered for the tournament.

The Canada-born goalkeeper did not have an Indian passport but SAI, the Indian Football ministry and AIFF helped him get one after they recognised the immense talent the boy from Toronto possesses.