Even though the Indian U-16 National Team lost 1-3 against Brazil in the BRICS U-17 Football Tournament, Nicolai Adam’s boys gave a testament of their footballing acumen, proving that they were no pushover, whilst ensuring their competitiveness and earning the respect of the five-time World Champions.

Speaking at the official post-match press conference, Brazil’s Head Coach Carlus Amadeu heaped praise on the Indian side, claiming that the squad has the potential to go a long way.

“They (Indian players) are gifted and very good on the ball. They are very fast and quick on the wings.”

“They have shown that they have a lot of potential but they still need to play more and gather experience against top teams before the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017.”

“The cohesion between the Indian squad is commendable. They have the potential to go a long way”, Amadeu said.

After conceding an early goal, the Indian colts replied with waves of attacks and Komal Thatal’s curling goal from outside of the box, coincidentally proved to be the first goal against Brazil in the tournament.

“The Indian team had many chances against us and their number 10 (Komal Thatal) scored a really fine goal.”

“We had asked our team to play defensively as India had fast players and we did not want to concede another goal and did not want to give India counter attacking opportunities.”

Meanwhile, the Indian defence too, literally stepped up when needed and caught the Brazilians offside, much to their anguish.

“Our strikers were surprised by how good the Indian defence was. We did not know that India will setup an offside trap for us and that created troubles for us.”

Amadeu also hailed India’s U-16 Head Coach Nicolai Adam, “Nicolai has done a fantastic job. The Indian team showed their competitiveness and the squad will only get better and better.”

(Report & Photo courtesy: AIFF Media)