India made it to the tournament as winners of their qualifying group which included Lebanon, Palestine - both far above India in the senior rankings - and most notably, Iran - who are so far above India on the rankings that they might as well be sitting in a different tier. (X/Indian Football)

‘Simple’ is a word that crops up quite a few times when talking football with Bibiano Fernandes, head coach of the Indian men’s U17 football team. But what he will try to do over the next week or so can be called anything but simple. He takes his wards to the AFC U17 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, with India facing Australia in their first game on May 6, followed by Uzbekistan on May 10.

The Indians were originally scheduled to face North Korea on May 13 before they pulled out of the tournament due to the conflict in West Asia.

With the top two teams in each group sealing an automatic berth in the FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar in November, the stakes are high, and one positive result can go a long way towards that…