India U-17 football squad leaves for exposure tour to Europe

New Delhi, April 11 : The India U-17 team presently preparing for the U-17 football World Cup left Indian shores for an exposure tour to Europe where they would be playing a series of practice matches in Portugal, France, Italy and Hungary and a tournament in Italy.

The 26-member squad, accompanied by seven officials including head coach Luis Norton de Matos, will be practising in Lisbon till May 15 where they are expected to play practice matches against U-17 youth teams of Sporting Lison, Benfica, Estoril and Setubal, among others.

The squad would then be proceeding to Paris to play a practice match against PSG U-17 Team.

The team also has a match scheduled against the Italian U-17 national team in Rome and will also be participating in the Lazio Cup.

The Lazio Cup is a tournament played among 16 teams and expected teams which are to participate in the Tournament include Albania U-17, Colombia U-17, a team from CAF Canadian selection, and a number of Clubs like Fiorentina, Lazio, Sampdoria, Cagliari, Pescara, Serie B Italia, Serie C Italia and four local teams.

They also have confirmed matches against Hungary U-17 and matches against Spanish Clubs during their tour to Spain.

The U-17 World Cup India 2017 kicks off on October 6.