Pathum Thani [Thailand], June 18 (ANI): A strong begin, a grave setback, and a decided comeback. Perhaps that’s one of the best ways to explain India’s opening Group D match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup in short.
Vietnam had their possibilities. India had theirs, maybe just a few greater than their opponents. But Long Vu for Vietnam and Malemngamba Thokchom for India remained the one two scorers in a recreation that was tied 1-1. It could have left many needing for extra, however India head coach Bibiano Fernandes, in his distinctly calm and collective manner, summed it up with perfection.
“The scoreline favours everybody. And I mean all four teams in Group D (Uzbekistan held Japan to a 1-1 draw in Bangkok). Of course, it could have been a different story if we got those three points, but we can take confidence from the display and come back stronger for the next two matches,” mentioned Fernandes as quoted by an All India Football Federation (AIFF) press launch.
Overall, beginning the group stage with a degree and a strong efficiency is one thing that the crew can take stock of and construct on.
“It was a good result for us in the end. Our boys played very well, and Vietnam also played a good game. Of course, we would have liked to get three points today, but it is what it is,” mentioned Fernandes.
“We will certainly take the one point from this match and move forward to the next one,” he added.
While Vietnam loved 59 per cent possession of the ball, it was India who created extra possibilities (4), and the Blue Colts head coach takes plenty of coronary heart from that.
“There were a lot of attacks from our end, but Vietnam also defended quite well in those opening exchanges. It was a small defensive error on our part that led to their goal, but overall, I am happy with how the boys have done. One point puts us in a decent position, and we need to make sure we do well in the other two matches,” mentioned the coach.
“Of course, there are things that we have learnt from this game. We will watch this one closely and try to improve upon it and take it from there. This was just the first game of the competition for us, and I am sure the boys will be more confident, more relaxed, and put in better performances here on,” he added.
Next up for the Blue Colts are an Uzbekistan facet that held the mighty defending champions Japan in their very own opening match on the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. While Japan created plenty of possibilities, Uzbekistan weathered the storm earlier than an 83rd-minute equaliser by Amirbek Saidov cancelled out Yutaka Michiwaki’s Eighth-minute strike.
“Uzbekistan are an extremely strong side. We have played against them before, and we will use all the information available to us to help the team perform better in the next game. Of course, they are a much-improved side from when we played them back in January. This will be a very different game, but I am confident the boys can work on the shortcomings and do well from there,” the coach concluded. (ANI)