Jamshedupur, Sept 06: Coach Stephen Constantine today said the two Indian sides slated to take part in the coming Under-19 JRD Tata Cup International Football Meet here had good prospects and hoped that the tournament would give the much-needed match exposure to the talented juniors ahead of the AFC qualifiers in Malaysia in October. The home teams TFA India Blue and TFA India White would be up against three foreign sides -- Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Iran -- in the round-robin invitation tourney beginning in the steel city from September 11. "Our prospects in the tournament are very good. This competition has come at the right time. It will definitely help our preparations for the AFC qualifiers," Constantine told newspersons.
The 40-year-old Anglo-Cypriot said the purpose of fielding two Indian teams was to give chance to more youngsters to prove their mettle against outfits from abroad. Under Constantine's coaching, the Indian colts performed creditably in July when they overwhelmed the fancied Dyanmo Kiev in the Milk Cup in Ireland before creating an Indian history by emerging surprise champions in the Ian Rush Trophy in Wales.
"In these tournaments I had seen the ability of a set of players. Now, I'll get to judge the potential of more such boys in real match condition," he said. Bureau Report