We'll stick to basics and play our brand of football at SAFF Championship, says Alex Ambrose

India U-15 women’s team is set to take on Nepal in the opener of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-15 women’s Championship on Wednesday at the Chalimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan. Head coach Alex Ambrose believes that sticking to the basics will help the defending champions perform well. India had defeated Bangladesh 1-0 in the final last year to clinch the title.

“Expectations are always there, but we are here to play good football. There is absolutely no pressure on the players. We just want them to perform well, enjoy their football and have a good tournament,” Ambrose said.

“We have been training in Goa for four months. We’ve had some practice matches, and it was a good training for us.”

After training for four months in Goa, the India U-15 women’s team also spent a week in Thimphu as a part of the acclimatisation process for the SAFF Championship which the coach feels is important for the team.

“It’s important for us to get acclimatised to high altitudes. We certainly want to do well and the federation is supporting us so that we can live up to a certain expectation.”

The head coach is not taking any of the participating teams lightly as “everyone is here to win.” He believes in playing their own brand of football taking it one match at a time. Along with India and Nepal, hosts Bhutan and Bangladesh make up the four participating teams in the tournament. Each side will be facing each other once and the top two teams will qualify for the final which will take place on October 15.

“We are here to play our brand of football and we are last year’s champions. But it’s a new tournament, we have a new team and that is why we need to forget about the past results and keep pushing forward,” he rounded off.