Turkey look to soar after camp in Doha
CANDID TALK Turkey Under17 coach says his team has the skills to match the best, but is physically at a disadvantage
MUMBAI: The U-17 football team of Turkey will look to replicate its success at the continental level— they reached these mi-final of the UEF AU -17 European Championships in 2008,2010 and 2017— on the global stage when they kick off their campaign in the U-17 World Cup beginning Friday.
However, as they gear up for their opening match against New Zealand at the DY Patil Stadium here on Friday, coach Mehmet Hacıoglu feels his side, expected to qualify from Group B which it shares with Mali and Paraguay besides New Zealand, is at a physical disadvantage.
“All groups are strong but in football it’s important to respect your rivals and that’ s what we’ re doing. Other teams are physically stronger than us but we’ve made adjustments in our preparation and, above all, we have talented players ,” said Mehmet.
“The first adjustment we made was with match schedule of the youth league sin our country. We made sure they start earlier than usual so we can keep up with the fitness levels of other teams, and we also had along training camp in Do ha so the players get used to the climate in India,” he said on combating the disadvantage faced by his players.
In the 2017 UEF AU -17 European Championships in Croatia, Turkey was drawn in the group of death with Spain, Italy and the home side in Group A. Victories against Croatia and Italy in the group stage were enough to send them through to the knockout where a 1-0 victory against Hungary confirmed their place in the 2017 U-17 World Cup.
Turkey have made two appearances in the U-17 World Cup in 2005 and 2009, finishing fourth in 2005, and in 2009 they lost to Colombia in the quarters.
Despite experiencing success recently, Mehmet says it is important to manage expectations while keeping the competitive edge alive. “We will take things step by step. We did so in the European Championships final and reached the semis. For World Cup finals, our target will be to get out of the group stage and then take it from there,” he said.
“These players have to enjoy themselves first and winning the World Cup is a bonus. However, even if you’re playing on the streets with stones, you would still want to win,” he added.
All groups are strong but in football it’s important to respect your rivals and that’s what we’re doing. MEHMET HACıOGLU, Turkey coach