‘ Win over Argentina was memorable’
After scripting a memorable 2- 1 victory over Argentina U20 team in the Cotif Cup in Spain, India’s U- 20 national football team returned to the country on Friday amid fanfare.
“Every Indian should feel proud of the win,” coach Floyd Pinto said here. “Not to forget, we also held U- 20 World Cup runnersup Venezuela to a goalless draw.
“The boys had put up a great performance against Venezuela and after that match, I said that they must raise the bar against Argentina.
“The boys were extremely organised and focused. We got the goals at the right moments and the result was there for everyone to see.”
Skipper Amarjit Singh said that after Aniket Jadhav got the marching orders in the second half against Argentina, they panicked a bit. “We were never in a mood to just sit back and defend. We were also up there to show our worth against the mighty Argentines. But after we went one man down, we got into a tizzy. Then came the strike from Anwar Ali and thankfully, we managed to hold the lead till the end,” said Amarjit.
Central defender Anwar revealed that there was no mystery behind the free- kick.
“Scoring against Argentina was something amazing. I’ll always cherish that. I love to hit the target from free- kicks and practice it a lot,” Anwar said.
“The most important part of the free- kick was that it earned us a win. Otherwise, it would have carried little significance and no one would have remembered it either,” he added.
Central defender Jitendra Singh, who stood out throughout, said it was a “collective effort.”
“We worked hard collectively to get the job done. It was a great learning experience for us,” he said.
Goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill said the team were now adept in dealing with “difficult conditions.”
“We have now learnt how to cope up with pressure. We lost the first two matches, then regrouped and drew with Venezuela and finally won against Argentina, that too after going down to 10 men. We have learnt how to react in difficult conditions,” he said.