FIFA U-17 World Cup: India failed to cause problems for opponents, says Luis Norton De Matos

PTI

New Delhi: Hosts India, on Friday, made a historic FIFA debut, but the dominant USA side stole the spotlight with a stunning 3-0 victory at JLN Stadium, New Delhi. India coach Luis Norton de Matos expressed his disappointment over the result. (IND vs USA – As it happened...)

Team USA went in all-out attacking against the Indian Colts right from the whistle blow which witnessed most Indian players fall back and play defensive. Yet the visitors on quite a few occasions broke in to create chances.

A clumsy first-half challenge within the penalty box from defender Jitendra Singh and US skipper Josh Sargent captivating on the opportunity sent home the penalty to take the tourists 1-0 up. Andrew Carleton and Chris Durkin struck in the second half of the game as the match ended 3-0 in favour of USA.

"I am satisfied with the collective performance of the boys but definitely I am not happy with the result,” he said at the post-match presser.

“There is a big gap between our Team and other Teams in our group. We conceded a stupid goal in the first half. At half-time, it was very much possible to overturn the game,” he later said at the official presser. “The ambience was perfect. I need to thank the fans for turning up.”

“This is the first time our players were playing in front of a crowd of 40,000 and that too, against a Team of the quality of USA,” he added. “My players were shy at the beginning. It’s very hard to control emotions at this level.”

“We were more confident in the second half. For Indian players, the experience of playing in the World Cup will help them in the long run.”

Indian Colts will next face Colombia U-17 on Monday, October 9 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.