Luis Norton de Matos is confident of India’s good show in FIFA U-17 World Cup against Colombia.
India might have lost 0-3 debut but gave a good account against the USA in the U-17 World Cup match. The hosts had a fair few chances but their final ball let them down in crucial junctures. Now, India have another stern test awaiting them. They take on Colombia in their second match of the tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi today.
The next opponent in India’s way are Latin American heavyweights Colombia, who defeated by Ghana in their opening game and Matos promised his boys will be looking for a result when they take the field on Monday.
“I would like to win. But, I believe that if you can’t win, you should try to draw. As a coach, I never want to lose and my team will surely fight for a result ,” Matos said.
India showed heart but lacked in skill and quality against a much superior United States of America. The hosts would like to take some inspiration from Niger, another World Cup debutants, who kicked off their campaign in the tournament with a win over North Korea on Saturday.
Out of the 16 previous U-17 World Cups, Colombia could only qualify for 5. It somewhat hints towards the fact, that Colombia are not too strong a team. It will be safe to assume that they has had way more experience in U-17 World Cups than India.
India did create chances and impressed with the skills. Once also coming agonisingly close to scoring their first-ever World Cup goal. But USA was clearly the better of the two teams. They dominating throughout the game in front of a strong home crowd egging them on.
Boris Singh will most likely be the only change for India after the right-back missed their game against USA due to suspension. He will replace Rahul Kannoly in the starting XI and his main role will be to stop the threat of Colombian midfielder Leandro Campaz down the left flank.