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India coach Luís Norton de Matos: Satisfied with collective performance but not with the result

FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Group A match action: India U-17 v USA U-17 (Photo courtesy: AIFF Media)

After going down to USA in their first match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, India U-17 Heach Coach Luís Norton de Matos said he isn’t “happy with the result.”

“I am satisfied with the collective performance of the boys but definitely I am not happy with the result,” he stated at the post-match press conference.

“There is a big gap between our Team and other Teams in our group. We conceded a stupid goal in the first half. At half-time, it was very much possible to overturn the game,” he stated at the official press conference. “The ambience was perfect. I need to thank the fans for turning up.”

Trailing by a solitary goal at the interval, India went down 0-3 in their first match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

“This is the first time our players were playing in front of a crowd of 40,000 and that too, against a Team of the quality of USA,” he pronounced. “My players were shy at the beginning. It’s very hard to control emotions at this level.”

“We were more confident in the second half. For Indian players the experience of playing in the World Cup will help them in the long run.”

(AIFF Media)