We will do everything to win against Saudi Arabia, says India U-19 football team coach Floyd Pinto
India U-19 football team will take on hosts Saudi Arabia in their second match of the AFC U-19 Championship 2020 Qualifiers on Friday and head coach Floyd Pinto has stated that his team will give everything to win it. Floyd feels India needs to keep composure throughout the game to get the results.
India U-19 football team will take on hosts Saudi Arabia in their second match of the AFC U-19 Championship 2020 Qualifiers in Al Khobar on Friday. In their opening match on Wednesday, India went down to a strong Uzbekistan 0-2 and head coach Floyd Pinto has asked his side to be more confident for the upcoming clash with the hosts.
“It was not the result that we wanted. But there’s no time to sulk on the first loss,” head coach Floyd Pinto said to the PTI.
“We have to pick-up and dust ourselves. The recovery process has started and all the players are determined to do everything it takes to win the next match,” he added
Saudi Arabia, who clinched the AFC U-19 Championship in 2018, picked up three points with a 1-0 victory over Afghanistan in their opener. Talking about the challenge the hosts pose, Floyd stated that it will be a “difficult” game.
“Even though they won (against Afghanistan) 1-0 through a penalty kick, they dominated the game from start to finish and should have scored many more goals.
“As expected, it will be a difficult game against them. I am confident that the players will recover from the previous result -- both physically and mentally -- and continue to put their best efforts in,” he stated.
According to the head coach, India needs to keep composure and focus throughout the 90 minutes as the two goals against Uzbekistan were scored in the second half due to concentration lapse. The match against Saudi Arabia will be India’s second in three days and according to 18-year-old Jitendra Singh, who made quite a mark for Indian Arrows in the last two domestic seasons, it is the “small things” that enable faster recovery for a player.
“It is extremely important to recover well for the next match. It is the small stuff -- like taking the right amount of water, the right food, getting adequate rest and listening to one’s body -- that is important during recovery and I’m sure all the players will be at their 100 percent levels ahead of the game,” Jitendra opined.
The youngster, who led the team to the SAFF U-18 title earlier this year, felt “Saudi Arabia are the strongest team in the group”.
“We cannot afford to make any silly mistakes or we will be punished. After the Uzbekistan result, all the players are determined to correct their errors and get a good result against the home team. The first match is history now -- all our focus is on the next game and we are looking to put our best foot forward,” he concluded.
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