Nepal, drawn in Group A along with Pakistan, Bhutan and Afghanistan, will lock horns with Bhutan in the inaugural match at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. Defending champion Pakistan will meet Afghanistan in another match on Saturday at the Army ground in Lagankhel.[break]
Group B consists of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The top two teams from each group after the round robin league will advance into the semifinals.
Nepal´s coach Bal Gopal Maharjan is optimistic Nepal will continue its dominance over Bhutan and also win the title. In the first edition held two years ago, Nepal had finished third while Pakistan had won the title defeating India in the final.
"We have defeated Bhutan in the past as well, so we are expecting victory against Bhutan," said Maharjan, who took charge of ANFA Academy two years ago. "But any outcome is possible in football, so we should not be overconfident."
Five players in the current Nepali U-16 team were picked from an open selection tournament conducted nearly six months ago, while the rest are ANFA Academy players.
"Our target is to win the title because we are physically, tactically and technically sound. Besides this, we all have good teamwork and understanding," said Maharjan, who started a special training to prepare for the tournament three months ago.
Maharjan is also optimistic that success in the youth-level tournament would help motivate the struggling senior national team that aims to end a two-decade-long title drought in the SAFF Championship scheduled to begin in Kathmandu from September 1. "Success at the youth level could give a positive message to the senior team and motivate them," said Maharjan.
Bhutan´s Japanese coach Kazunogi Ohara said, "We hope not to lose any point." The Bhutanese youth team had started training for the tournament since February. "The players are gradually improving," Ohara said. Bhutan´s skipper Santosh Siwa said the team would perform better than in the previous edition.
Afghanistan coach Waheed said they would focus more on improving youth football than on results. "Participation in the tournament is more important than the outcome. Our main goal is to improve youth football and help the national team in future," Wahid said, adding that his side would work hard to secure a good position in the championship.
Pakistan coach Sajjad Mohamud said his side plans to show a good game. He added that their target was the AFC U-16 Qualifiers rather than the tournament. The team had undergone a three-week training for the tournament.
Bangladesh coach Rene Koster said his primary target was to develop players and playing style. "It is not about winning but about development, and our target is to get players for the national team," said the Dutch adding, "Of course we want to win the tournament but it is important to develop a playing style."
India coach Gautam Ghosh said his team was focusing more on development rather than results. "During this tournament we´ll look at our problems and weaknesses and amend them in future," said Ghosh, whose side had started training for the tournament on April 8.
Sri Lanka´s coach Nimal Wijesekara said his side was not mentally prepared to play the tournament but they would give their best.
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