Arizo (Italy), May 20 (IANS): The India U-17 football team defeated Italy U-17 2-0 in a friendly match here on Friday.

Abhijit Sarkar (31st minute) and Rahul Praveen (80th) scored for the Indians either side of the break.

The match is part of the exposure tour of Europe for the Indian boys as they gear up for the U-17 World Cup to be held in India later this year.

The Indian boys dominated possession for a major part of the game and created more chances.

The Indians were stronger off the blocks gave the hosts a tough time early on.

Komal Thatal's eighth minute strike almost beat the Italian custodian as the Indians gunned for an early lead.

In the 13th minute, Aniket came close to scoring for India but his effort went straight down the goalkeeper's throat resulting in an easy save.

In the 31st minute however, Sarkar's cross took a wicked deflection off the Italian defence line and ended up in the back of the opposition net to give India the lead.

In the 59th minute, Aniket missed a one on one chance against the Italian goalkeeper after he rounded the opposition custodian but failed to convert.

In the 75th minute, Rahul came close to scoring but failed to tap the rebound home from close range after Aniket's shot was met with a superb save by the Italian custodian.

Scoring chances every now and then for the Indians and they made their domination count in the 80th minute when Rahul scored from inside the Italian penalty box.