Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeSportsFootballWe are ready for Colombia, will go for win: India coach Matos

We are ready for Colombia, will go for win: India coach Matos

- Advertisement -

Luis Norton de Matos, FIFA U-17 World Cup

India coach Luis Norton de Matos on Sunday said they are ready for a physically and technically superior Colombia and will “fight till the last minute” in their Group A match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Monday.

In their maiden World Cup appearance, India were blanked 0-3 by USA on Friday, and the coach was not pleased with the result.

“Colombia are tough opponents and they possess the necessary elements to hurt us. We have to be on our toes all throughout and have to focus on the task at hand. They (Colombia) will also give us a tough physical fight but we are ready for it,” Matos said on the eve of the team’s second game.

However, Matos said his boys will give “Colombia a run for their money”.

“The team will fight to the last minute and play with confidence giving Colombia a run for their money.”

Colombia lost 0-1 against Ghana in the opening match of Group A and although the South Americans are also yet to open their account, the Indian colts are at the bottom courtesy their goal difference.

“We will play to win. There is no other alternative for us. Every match we play is to win and if we win against Colombia we will be creating history,” Matos stressed.

“The eventual target is to secure progression to the next stage while taking one game at a time. The strength of the Indian team is their collective ability to play football as a combined unit and we bank on that factor to help us win against Colombia.”

Asked how different will be India’s outing against Colombia from the USA drubbing, he said, “Against USA, we had a nervy start and the players were shy and could not play their game against a team of the quality of USA.

“It was their first match ever in a FIFA World Cup and emotions can be a little hard to control when you play in front of 55,000 people for the very first time,” Matos pronounced.

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Latest

Must Read

- Advertisement -

Related News