RFDL North Regional Qualifiers Recap: Sudeva Delhi FC and Garhwal FC sail through to National Group Stage

RFDL North Regional Qualifiers Recap: Sudeva Delhi FC and Garhwal FC sail through to National Group Stage
The Regional Qualifiers of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) in North turned out to be a fascinating race between Sudeva Delhi FC, Garhwal FC, RoundGlass Punjab FC and Rajasthan United FC.

Sudeva Delhi won the group with 20 points ahead of runners-up Garhwal, who finished on 17. Nevertheless, both teams progressed to the National Group Stage of India’s most inclusive under-21 football tournament facilitated by Reliance Foundation.

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The RFDL provides a platform for young footballers in India to showcase their potential. It is a first-of-its-kind nationwide football tournament to nurture young talent and create a sustainable football ecosystem in India with teams from Hero Indian Super League, Hero I-League and independent academies looking to make their mark.

Over 50 teams bifurcated into nine regional groups competed in the league.
RoundGlass Punjab FC, whose senior team clinched the I-League 2022-23 title for the second time earlier this year, finished third with 11 points. Rajasthan United could manage just one win and two draws from nine matches and finished bottom of the table with five points.

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The RFDL Regional Qualifiers gave a glimpse of the country’s future footballers. The matches were played on the Civil Lines ground in Delhi from March 16 to April 11.
The group winners Sudeva Delhi began their campaign slowly with just one win from their first three matches. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Rajasthan United in their opener and earned three points against RoundGlass Punjab in the second match courtesy of Ashray Bhardwaj’s strike in the second half.

A thrilling 2-2 draw against RoundGlass Punjab a few days later meant Sudeva Delhi, with five points from three matches, needed wins to break ahead of the rest and the team delivered.
A morale-boosting 2-1 win over a resolute Garhwal side gave Sudeva Delhi the momentum to storm through their next four games unscathed. They defeated Rajasthan United twice with 5-0 margins in both matches and registered narrow 1-0 wins against RoundGlass Punjab and Garhwal FC.

Sudeva Delhi’s five-match winning streak came to an end against Garhwal, who proved too hot to handle in the final stages of the qualifiers. Garhwal were level with RoundGlass Punjab on 11 points with two matches to play against the then-undefeated Sudeva Delhi.
Garhwal rose to the occasion and pumped in three goals against Sudeva Delhi without conceding to assure themselves a second place in the group. In a mouth-watering face-off between Garhwal and Sudeva Delhi in the final match of the Regional Qualifiers in North, the former asserted their dominance with a 2-1 win and concluded their campaign on high.

Despite two defeats in their final two matches, Sudeva Delhi had plenty of positive takeaways from the Regional Qualifiers.
Sudeva Delhi scored 19 goals in the 10 matches they played - the most by any team in the north region. Their team also managed five clean sheets which were again the most by a team from the region.
Apart from team milestones, Sudeva Delhi had their striker Shubho Paul score five goals in the qualifiers and become the top-scorer. Paul's contributions were instrumental in his team's success.

Next, Sudeva Delhi and Garhwal FC will go into different groups in the National Group Stage and will aim to qualify for the RFDL National Championships & the Next Gen Cup 2022-23.

For more information on RFDL, please visit us here: https://www.rfyouthsports.com/ 

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