India were pitted against Jordan, Tajikistan and Serbia in the Four-Nation Invitational Tournament AIFF

There's a pause when India's U-16 coach Bibiano Fernandes is asked if he expected his team to win the Four-Nation Invitational Tournament in Serbia over the weekend, one that pitted India against Jordan, Tajikistan and the hosts.

"Looking at the teams, I didn't expect us to win," Bibiano says. "But I knew we would do well in Serbia. Everything was so well organised in our pre-tournament camp in Goa, and then we played in Spain against USA, Norway and the U-16 team of Valencia -- they were all good games. I was expecting a good performance."

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It has been a steady rise in profile, both for the 41-year-old former central midfielder as coach, as well as his wards, who were brought together originally to serve as the feeder team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup squad.

Bibiano, whose nous as playmaker for Sporting Clube de Goa was one of the consistent themes of domestic football in the 2000s, had just completed his AFC A license in 2016 and was part of the first scouting camp for the current team in Bhopal. He would take charge of the side in November that year, and 2018 will see this team compete at the AFC U-16 Championship in Malaysia, where India are grouped with Iran, Vietnam and Indonesia. They must make the semi-finals to book their place in successive U-17 World Cups.

"Iran are finalists [from 2016], and Indonesia and Vietnam are also good teams. We are working hard, and our first aim is to come out of the group stages and then win the quarter-finals," he says.