India undergo first practice session for FIFA U-17 World Cup

With less than nine days left for India U-17 to clash against the US in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the hosts had their first training session under Head Coach Luis Norton de Matos here on Wednesday.

The Indian U-17 National Team arrived here on Tuesday from Goa and the team Head Coach emphasised on tactical training along with focus on set pieces amongst other technical matters.

Meanwhile, morale and spirits are at an all time high in the Indian camp with the young colts registering a 3-0 win over Mauritius in a practice match which the colts had played in Goa earlier.

The players were all ears to Matos's commands as the technical staff along with the Head Coach guided them through drills.

"A unique moment is upon us, It is an amazing moment in Indian Football's history and everyone associated with it should be proud of it," said Matos.

India have been draw in Group A of the U-17 World Cup with the US, Colombia and Ghana, and incidentally Colombia, the first team to arrive in the nation for the FIFA World Cup, are practicing at the same training ground as India.

The Indian Colts will face USA on October 6, before locking horns against Colombia and Ghana on October 9 and October 12 respectively at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

"The FIFA U-17 World Cup is a very big moment for every player as they will all become heroes. They will become the first Indian players to be part of a FIFA World Cup. These players will inspire generations to come, they will motivate posterity and that in itself is a victory", the coach said.

In an effort to field a strong team, the AIFF has provided exposure trips to the India U-17s wherein the colts went to play club teams and national team of Europe including clashes against Benfica, Serbia and Macedonia. The India U-17s also participated in a Four-Nation Tournament in Mexico alongside hosts Mexico, Chile and fellow Group A team Colombia.

"The level of enthusiasm in the camp is very high. We are prepared and the team has grown exponentially in the last couple of months. We plan to show the world that we are on the same page as the rest of the teams in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India. The Indian team is raring to go and make history," Matos said.

--IANS

sam/dg