Shillong, May 22: It’s perfect record vs perfect record. Meghalaya will take on Kerala in a high-stakes quarterfinal of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship 2026 in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh.
Both sides stormed into the last eight without dropping a point. Jeffrey Warlarpih’s Meghalaya boys bulldozed Group A, collecting all 12 points. They opened with a 3-1 win over Bihar on May 9, then hammered Jharkhand 5-0, thrashed Andhra Pradesh 8-1 on May 13, and shut out Rajasthan 3-0 on May 17.
Kerala were just as ruthless in Group C. They dismantled Chandigarh 5-1 on May 13, beat Uttarakhand 3-0 on May 15, ran riot against Andaman & Nicobar 12-0 on May 19, and closed with a 6-1 rout of Jammu & Kashmir on May 21.
This is Meghalaya’s toughest test yet. The two met in last year’s edition, with Meghalaya edging Kerala 2-1 in the group stage. But squads have changed. As an age-group tournament, only a couple of players from Meghalaya’s 2025 team are back this year.
Saturday’s clash will decide who marches into the semis.
