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'USA a really tough test'

Last Updated 05 October 2017, 19:55 IST

India coach Luis Norton De Matos does not mince words when he says his wards are short on experience compared to the teams in the World Cup. Neither does he hide the want of variety at his disposal.  But the coach vouches for the intensity and discipline of the team and insists they would fight to make history against the United States of America on Friday.

De Matos conceded his boys face a tough proposition in a tricky Group A that also has two-time champions Ghana, and Colombia.

“This is the first step and I’m very excited to be working towards the future. USA, Ghana and Colombia are three teams of very big level. The players know what they are going to find when they start tomorrow. But in football you cannot know what will happen. Of course we would like to make history for Indian football but we sincerely hope to play with 12 players tomorrow -- 11 plus the fan support, which is very important,” Matos said.

“If you compare with India, all players and aspects of USA are stronger. As a coach I would like to have the variety the US have in (Josh) Sargent and Tim Weah. But we are going to play as a unit and try to fight against a very physical team.”

Matos said he was satisfied with the way the team’s defence has developed but felt they needed to work on their scoring ability.

“I am very happy with our defence which is not just the backline but the whole team. But we need to be able to score. We create a lot of chances but the European players are more incisive. It’s about the lack of experience at the grassroots. When you start a process in Portugal, or the US, you have competitions from the age of seven.

“We have learnt the defensive process. We will see now if that is enough,” he said.

The coach, however, was impressed the way the boys had grasped his methods quickly.

“It was a pleasant surprise to see the players focused and the process was imbibed correctly in two months. We played very good games in Europe. The intensity is very strong. They used to play more direct football; I tried to make them play with more time on the ball.

“I work hard on the mental conditioning of the side. It is important that they enjoy the experience.”

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(Published 05 October 2017, 19:55 IST)

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