AFC U-16 Championship: Saudi Arabia 3-3 India

Aniket Jadhav struck early for India at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Aman Chetri doubled their advantage only for Sulaiman Al Dhuwayhi to restore hope for the Saudis 11 minutes before the interval.

Saudi Arabia’s Mali missed from the spot with the last kick of the first half but Feras Al Brikan’s quick-fire brace in the final 10 minutes looked to have won it for the Saudis before captain Wangjam kept India in the tournament at the death.

The hosts will now need to defeat Iran in their final Group A outing on Wednesday to stand any chance of reaching the quarter-finals while the Saudis face the same predicament against the United Arab Emirates.

India got off to the perfect start when Jadhav opened the scoring on five minutes by firing low into the bottom left corner after Komal Thatal had picked the midfielder out from the left.

Then in the 22nd minute Boris Thangjam broke towards the left byline, turned inside two defenders and crossed for Chetri to side-foot into the back of the net from 12 yards despite the best efforts of the Saudi defence.

But just as they did in their opening-day reversal against the UAE, India looked vulnerable when in front and the Saudis took advantage by grabbing a goal for themselves in the 34th minute.

Dhari Al Anazi received the ball on the left before going past defender Mohamad Rakip and centering for Al Dhuwayhi to head home from six yards out.

The West Asians were now in almost complete control as Naif Almas diverted Hamad Al Abdan’s free-kick from the left onto the post on 45 minutes.