India’s big football test begins today
The Indian team faces USA in what will be the country’s first experience at top level football tourney
NEW DELHI: The title ‘sleeping giant’ has been synonymous with Indian football for quite some time now. When FIFA official Thierry Weil gave that title to India in a 2015 interview, the global football community was sure that they are on their way to becoming the next big thing. Sadly, it has not panned out that way and although the senior team broke into the top-100, a lot of work still needs to be done. However, the FIFA U-17 World Cup will be a huge opportunity for the first-time hosts and they will be looking to ‘wake up’ as they get ready to face USA in their Group A encounter in New Delhi on Friday.
This will be the first U-17 World Cup for India and this will also be the first time that they are taking part in the final round of any major FIFA tournament. They were granted direct qualification as hosts after they piped Azerbaijan, Ireland and Uzbekistan in the FIFA bidding process. But, since the announcement, the team has seen a lot of twists and turns on their way to the competition. Things looked quite bleak for the team when the AIFF sacked Nicolai Adam as coach in January over his treatment of the players. It was a big blow to the preparations of a team getting to ready to play its first-ever international tournament. Luis Norton de Matos was appointed as his replacement and the Portuguese has made severe changes to the squad since then. Matos has brought a bunch of new players in key positions and the team has adapted a more possession-minded tactic under the guidance of the Portuguese coach who is a big fan of Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
It seems that formula will remain the same on October 6 with Matos going with his tried and tested XI against USA. Moirangthem Dheeraj Singh will be at goal with Anwar Ali and Jitendra Singh playing as center backs. Sanjeev Stalin and Hendry Antonay will take their role as wing backs with Jeakson Singh playing as the defensive midfielder.
Talking about Friday’s game against USA, Luis Norton De Matos said, “We know USA are a very strong side. They are known for their attacking football and the players are very talented. But, the Indian players know exactly what is expected of them and we have complete trust in ourselves.
”USA, on the other hand, will be banking on their impressive attacking talent to start the tournament with a win. The CONCACAF U-17 Championship runners-up boasts of brilliant strikers like Josh Sargent, Ayo Akinola and Tim Weah who have proven themselves in the Major League Soccer (MLS) developemental system.