How Bibiano Fernandes masterminded India's win over Iran for U17 Asian Cup qualification

India don't beat Iran in football. It's just an unsaid rule.
So, when Bibiano Fernandes' team headed into the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad for the last game in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers needing a win against Iran to qualify for the tournament, one could be forgiven for thinking India couldn't do it.
Bibiano, the head coach of the India U-17 team, didn't see it that way, even if they were heading into that Iran game on the back of a 2-0 loss to Lebanon in the match before. In fact, even before India had taken the field against Lebanon, focus had already shifted to Iran.
"Regardless of what happened in that match against Lebanon, we knew we had to win against Iran. My analyst and staff came and told me that, so we started already preparing for the Iran match even before the Lebanon match had begun," Bibiano said.
"We were aware that we should not do anything silly. In the heat of the moment, there was a red card, but still we believed in the other players," he added.
In fact, Bibiano even took off his two best players - captain Dallalmuon Gangte and attacker Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam at half-time to keep them fresh for the game against Iran. Bibiano did that because he knew their quality, he knew that the team stood a better chance against Iran if they were rested.
It's rare for Indian teams to win against Iran because they usually don't create enough chances to score, if any. That's where this team was different. So, even when Iran took the lead early in the game through Amirreza Valipoor, Bibiano's focus remained on his team being solid in defence. The chances would come, if the likes of Gangte and Gunleiba had a solid base behind them.
"We knew we had the quality to create chances. So, we had to defend well because Iran are a very good team. We had to focus on defending well against them," Bibiano said.
That alone makes Bibiano a unique Indian national team coach, and this team a unique Indian national team. Coaches and teams generally have lacked the self-belief, especially in attack, against superior opposition. Here though, Bibiano proposed, his wards disposed. Gangte equalized with a penalty just before half-time, and then Gunleiba put India in the lead with a calm finish just after half-time. Bibiano made multiple mentions of the talent that Gunleiba and Gangte possess, and his complete faith in their game-changing abilities, which eventually proved to be India's trump-card.
Indian goalkeeper Rajrup Sarkar had to make a couple of big saves between Gunleiba's goal and the full-time whistle, but India had achieved what they had set out to do. Now, they're effectively two wins away from qualifying on merit to the FIFA U17 World Cup.
While he always had complete faith in the quality his team possessed, Bibiano felt the need for additional motivation for the players before that Iran game. So, he sought video messages from each of the players' parents. The senior team head coach Khalid Jamil, U-23 head Naushad Moosa, and players like Sandesh Jhingan and Rahul Bheke had also sent words of motivation which were played out to the players just before they left the team hotel for the game.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, four days after the job was done, Bibiano still relives that moment when the final whistle was blown with fondness. "I still have goosebumps when I think about it," he said.
A project that began in August 2024 has crossed its first checkpoint with flying colours. Now it's time for the federation to not sit on these laurels, and for them to help Bibiano and his team out.
They will face massive tests in Qatar, when the tournament begins in May 2026. Bar Iran, the rest of Asia's footballing superpowers will all be there. India will likely be in Pot 4, meaning their group will be tough. The two wins they need to finish in the top two of their group and qualify for the World Cup won't be easy to get.
Preparation for these qualifiers began with trials in August 2024, where a bunch of almost 90 players were whittled down to the final squad. They played in the SAFF Championship in Sri Lanka, which they won. However, preparation for the Asian Cup has to be more thorough and more demanding.
Bibiano spoke of the team's need to play tough friendlies. "Imagine if we had played tough friendlies and then gone into these qualifiers, what would have happened?" he asks.
Bibiano is aware of the challenges that his team will face at the tournament in May next year. "As the level goes up, the spaces are smaller and the game is quicker, we need to play well in that," he said.
The only way to progress in terms of their ability on the ball is to play more games. India need to play those games against teams that are of a higher level than them. It is only the better teams who will compress spaces, put pressure on the ball to deny time on it. Bibiano argues that these players need to handle such levels on a regular basis, so they are eventually prepared to perform at the biggest stage.
And that is where the baton is now passed to the federation. We've already seen the AIFF not holding their end of the bargain in the women's side, where the senior team, U23 and U17s will all play the Asian Cup next year. The IWL is yet to begin, visas weren't obtained for the senior team to travel to North Macedonia for friendlies this month, and as it stands, the nature of the senior team's preparatory camps are yet to be made public.
There are now four Indian teams in Asian Cups next year, across genders and age groups. They've gone there despite the turmoil in the AIFF. Now, the federation must pull its socks up and give these teams the support they need and deserve. They haven't done it too often recently, but it's high time the AIFF functions like the governing body of the sport must.