Internet Desk: Just after the day the Indian U19 team received a humiliating thrashing against Saudi Arabia in a Group D match of the AFC U19 Championship Qualifiers, Coach Luis Nortan de Matos claimed that the the U19 team is a “work in progress”.
The Blue Tigers will be facing Yemen at the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad stadium on November 6.
Reflecting on the drubbing at the hands of the host nation last night, Matos said, “We knew Saudi Arabia is very strong and the fact that they are hosts added to it. They played on a very high level and pressed well to squeeze us out. Their midfield was very composed as compared to ours and we failed to keep possession.”
Matos added, “Our team is a work in progress and we have some players who are 2001 born in the camp. We are focusing on building for the future. Exposing these players to high level international tournaments is very important in their development.”
Asked how does he rate India’s next opponents, Matos said, “It will be a tough clash against Yemen as they are a side which are very quick on the counter-attacks. We need to rectify our mistakes and concentrate on tomorrow’s match if we are to get a positive result.
“Yemen is a team which is on our level and we will search for a win against them. We believe that we can give Yemen a very stern fight.”