October 13, 2017 by admin

Lot of positives for India, says coach Matos

New Delhi, October 13
Although his wards ended their U-17 World Cup campaign on a poor note, India U-17 coach Luis Norton de Matos asserted that the experience will prove valuable for the future of Indian football. Pointing out that the standard of the U-17 World Cup is far higher than I-League and the Indian Super League (ISL), he said his boys had taken away valuable lessons from the tournament.
“They are as intelligent as others. The U-17 World Cup is better than I-League, this experience is stronger than I-League,” said Matos. “Because I know when the ISL teams go to play against the fourth division sides in Spain, they lose.” Praising India’s performance, he said: “After two hard games at this level, I knew it would be complicated to play against Ghana. Ghana to me were the strongest team in the group. They have very fast players, all of whom can decide the fate of the match.”
The coach said the difference between the two teams in terms of physical abilities was huge. “We were very tired at the half time. When you are physically drained out, your brain does not work and you commit silly mistakes,” he said. “Yet, I am very proud of my boys.”