Suman Chakravorty and Sabyasachi Bagchi, New Delhi: India U17 team is not getting bogged down and gaining confidence despite a 0-3 defeat on the hands of the mighty USA in the FIFA U17 World Cup today, claimed the Portuguese coach Luis Norton de Matos.
“I am satisfied with the collective performance of the boys but definitely I am not happy with the result,” he stated at the post-match Press meet.
“There is a big gap between our Team and other Teams in our group. We conceded a stupid goal in the first half. At half-time, it was very much possible to overturn the game,” he stated at the official press conference. “The ambience was perfect. I need to thank the fans for turning up.”
“This is the first time our players were playing in front of a crowd of 40,000 and that too, against a Team of the quality of USA,” he pronounced. “My players were shy at the beginning. It’s very hard to control emotions at this level.”
“We were more confident in the second half. For Indian players the experience of playing in the World Cup will help them in the long run.”
Commenting on India’s performance, The USA coach John Hackworth said: “India played beyond our expectations. They are a good side and their counter-attack was good which caused many problems for us. The Indian goalkeeper and the two centrebacks were exceptional.”