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FIFA U-17 World Cup: Luis Norton speaks on India's preparations

India U-17 coach Luis Norton de Matos knows it very well that the team will start matching the best teams in business at the World Cup with just two years of preparations.

India's U-17 football team's coach Luis Norton de Matos

Bengaluru, September 18: India U-17 coach Luis Norton de Matos knows it very well that the team will start matching the best teams in business at the World Cup with just two years of preparations.

It's not easy at the World Cup, he warns, but promises to give it all even if India's chances in each of the three group matches are just five percent.

The Portuguese recently opened up to the media about his team’s chances in the World Cup and said that his boys are well prepared.

“We believe we are prepared. We have worked hard during the last few months, made progress and played some very good games. We have expectations from this tournament but we are playing at a World Cup, an experience which is completely new to the players,” Norton said.

“It's high competition. We are also conscious that we haven't played enough matches with national teams. We've played Italy, Serbia, Macedonia, Mexico, Colombia and Chile. The United States, on the other hand, played six international matches during the last 45 days.”

“A lot of people feel this team has been training together for two years and we should be ready to compete against the US, Ghana and Colombia. It's impossible. The reality is that the difference is enormous. But we will fight.”

“If you are realistic, you will know that our chances are less. But we want to believe that nothing is impossible. We will show professionalism and try to match the top teams. We will see them eye-to-eye. We won't feel inferior.”

“The result and performance against Chile was unbelievable but it was still a friendly . You cannot compare that friendly to what we will experience at the World Cup. The pressure will be enormous.”

“To give you an example of what to expect; Mexico won 6-1 against Costa Rica (in the qualifiers) and both teams are now at the World Cup. That's the level. And let's not even discuss teams like Spain, Germany and Brazil.”

Story first published: Monday, September 18, 2017, 12:28 [IST]
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