India U-19 team takes on New Caledonia U-19
New Delhi: The Indian U-19 football team will take on New Caledonia U-19 side in the OFC Developmental Tournament in Port Villa, Vanuatu on Wednesday.
India will be confident having beaten hosts Vanuatu in the first match of the tournament.
Incidentally, the Blue Colts will face the same Oceanian team that represented its nation in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India two years ago.
Coach Floyd Pinto said the game against New Caledonia will be "one step up" and the players are looking forward to "an entertaining game of football."
"New Caledonia is the same team that played in the U-17 World Cup two years back. They are big and a physical team who are in good spirit following the big win against Vanuatu. We are looking forward to an entertaining game of football," Pinto said.
"It will be one step up from the first game and the boys are eager to take our game up," he continued.
While analyzing India's last win against Vanuatu, Pinto mentioned it was an important win given the fact that the hosts were "defending deep."
He said: "Our boys are playing with a great deal of confidence & focus and it was important for us to get three points.
"It's not easy to break down a team with eleven players defending deep but I was satisfied with the way they kept prodding away to, eventually, get the breakthrough. They nullified the opposition and broke into counter-attacks too."
With the SAFF U19 Championship knocking at the door, the coach aims to create a core team which will, in turn, garners positive results in the long run.
"With the SAFF Championships on the horizon, the aim is to get the core players playing together as much as possible to solidify combinations. After such a good performance, players deserve to keep their place in the team," he concluded.
