With less than ten days to go for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biggest honours in youth football, the Colombian team arrived early in India. As a part of their preparation for the blockbuster event which kicks off on October 6th, Los Cafeteros competed against the U-20 team of Ranjit Bajaj-owned Minerva Punjab which saw them beat the Chandigarh-based team by a 0-1 scoreline.
The match started with the Colombian side making a quick attack and winning an early corner. However, the kick landed into safe hands of Minerva custodian Arshdeep Singh. The next couple of moments saw coach Orlando Restrepo's young guns making constant efforts to penetrate in the opposition's backline with midfielders Andres Perea and Etilso Martinez trying to set up through balls for attacker Deiber Caicedo. However, some fierce defending by Kamalpreet Singh saw their attempts go in vain.
The best chance in the first half came in the 18th minute for the visitors when medio Bryan Gomez's freekick was denied by Arshdeep. It was in the 25th minute that striker Deyman Cortes gave the lead to his contingent with a fine finish at the far left post to make the scoreline 1-0 in their favour. The final moments of the half saw Minerva's Luntinmang Haokip trying to swift past the Colombian backline but an alert Juan Penaloza averted the danger.
The second half started on a positive note for the North India outfit as they earned an early free kick on the edge of the box. Former Middlesbrough U-23 midfielder and Minerva's newest recruit William Opoku Asiedu stepped up to convert the kick but his shot missed the woodwork by inches. Later, Md. Ajruddin made a beautiful shuffle past defenders Juan Penaloza and Thomas Gutiérrez but missed the final touch.
19-year-old Krishna Pandit had the chance of the game when he had a one-on-one chance with the Colombian custodian but was brought down. The two teams walked off the pitch at the full-time whistle with a 0-1 result in the favour of Colombia who are placed in Group A with India, USA and Ghana.
