AFC U-16 Championship: Could have won with a fancier scoreline against Vietnam: Bibiano Fernandes

Kuala Lumpur, September 22: After defeating the Vietnam under-16 team 1-0 to kick-off their AFC U-16 Championship campaign on a winning note, head coach of the Indian U-16 national team Bibiano Fernandes stated that there is “still work to be done,” and the team could have won by a fancy scoreline in their first match.

AFC U-16 Championships: Late goal by Vikram Singh hands India U-16 win against Vietnam

“We have toiled hard to get the result against Vietnam. It has been a long journey to build this team. Still there a few tweaks to be done and we should not be overconfident of ourselves in the attempt,” Bibiano said.

FT India 🇮🇳 1-0 🇻🇳 Vietnam

Captain Vikram Partap's lone goal in the dying stages made all the difference for the Blue Tigers in today's competition! #AFCU16 pic.twitter.com/ue72E3QYvp

— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) September 21, 2018

“We dominated the entire match and could have won by a fancier scoreline but we missed our chances in front of the net. That is something we will focus upon and try to increase our conversion rate. The credit goes to the players for attacking incessantly and finding the win,” he added.

The Indian colts had as many as four clear goal scoring chances and it almost felt they would score whenever the ball reached the final third. In the 83rd minute, skipper Vikram Singh’s run awarded India a penalty which was converted to hand India a vital three points.

Thank you @kbfc_manjappada for turning up to cheer for the boys against Vietnam in @theafcdotcom U16 Championship. #BackTheBlue #AsianDream #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/1eN12EIipQ

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 22, 2018

“We came here to get a win and we got the win. That is what matters. I am happy with the team’s performance and this team has a lot of potential to go a long way. But we are taking one match at a time and will focus on our next opponents,” Bibiano stated.

Post the match, skipper Vikram Singh said, “We have full confidence in our abilities as a team. We did miss chances but eventually we got the job done and that is of great importance – to get a win in our first match itself.”

Meanwhile defender Shabas Ahaamed added: “We had to toil the entire match and Vietnam were quick on counter-attacks. We had to defend with extreme poise and played compact to nullify the threat.”

"Got the 3⃣ points, but now we need to work on our game before the Iran 🇮🇷 game."

Gaffer Bibiano Fernandes gives his two-bit after India 🇮🇳 U-16 boys' win over Vietnam 🇻🇳 in the AFC U-16 Championship.#BackTheBlue #AsianDream #IndianFootball #MissionMalaysia pic.twitter.com/eSsPkkNHKW

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 21, 2018

With the win the Indian U-16 team are ranked second in Group C behind leaders Indonesia and face Iran next on Monday (September 24).

Source: AIFF