His shot stopping skills were lauded in the first game whereas his distribution was brilliant in the game against Colombia. Dheeraj is quick to come off his line and is an aggressive goalkeeper. A tournament where India has fought with all their might, Dheeraj is a testament to the fact that the talent is there in the country to match shoulders with the top sides of the world at the biggest of stages.

On that note, here are the 10 things that need to be known about India’s future no.1 custodian - Dheeraj Singh Moiramgthem:

#1 Dheeraj was born on July 4, 2000, in the town of Moirang in Manipur. It is a small town some 45 kms away from Imphal, the state capital.

#2 Football was not the first sport which Dheeraj played in his childhood. He started off with badminton and then turned his attention to football when he was 11.

#3 Dheeraj idolizes Gurpreet Singh Sandhu of Bengaluru FC and Petr Cech of Arsenal.

#4 The teenager’s favourite team is Real Madrid and he is an ardent fan of Los Blancos.

#5 The U-17 World Cup is not the first high profile tournament which Dheeraj has played. He has played in the SAFF U-16 tournament in 2013 and also at the AFC U-16 championship last year.

#6 Dheeraj is the most capped Indian player in this age group. The goalkeeper has represented India in the U-16 and U-17 division in 45 matches.

#7 Two clubs are reportedly interested in signing him after the end of the World Cup. One of them being the Bundesliga side, Borussia Monchengladbach and the other being an unnamed MLS side.

#8 During a tournament in Dubai, La Liga scouts watched Dheeraj play and were keen on signing him. But the AIFF failed to reciprocate faster and complete the paperwork in time.

#9 Dheeraj is a huge music buff and loves to listen to Ellie Goulding. His current favourite song is the Spanish hit, “Despacito”.

#10 His favourite movie of all time is a fantasy classic, “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Dheeraj has a long career ahead of him and looking by the huge strides that he is taking so early in his career, there isn’t much time when the Manipuri boy will be seen between the sticks for a European club.

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