Korea Republic are the favourites but we will fight: Bibiano Fernandes

India's U-16 football team is just a win away from qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru next year.

Published : Sep 29, 2018 15:02 IST , KUALA LUMPUR

India U-16 football team progressed to the quarterfinals from a group which involved Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia.
India U-16 football team progressed to the quarterfinals from a group which involved Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia.
lightbox-info

India U-16 football team progressed to the quarterfinals from a group which involved Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia.

After getting out of the group stages of the AFC U-16 Championship for the first time in 16 years, the Indian U-16 national team is aiming high. With just a win away from qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru next year, the squad is apprehensive about the gravity of the situation and the challenge that lies ahead.

It will take a herculean effort from the Indian boys to overcome its next quarterfinal opoonent Korea Republic. This will be Korea's eighth last-eight stage appearance of the championships since 1998.

Before the crucial clash, head coach Bibiano Fernandes spoke at length about India’s performance in the group stages, the defensive cohesion, the sacrifices and a lot more. 

You are one match away from the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Everybody in the squad including the staff knows the gravity of our quarterfinal bout. The boys have sacrificed a lot for these coming ninety minutes and have worked tirelessly day in and day out for the same. This is the moment that they have been preparing for, almost their whole lives till now.

RELATED | Emotions high as India aims to make history

The gravity of the moment is immense and everybody is apprehensive of what it means and what it can mean for Indian Football.

Will Korea Republic be challenging?

Korea Republic are one of the teams touted to win the AFC U-16 Championship and the match against them will be the most challenging ninety minutes that any one of us has ever faced. Korea Republic are the overwhelming favourites.

They are tactically very agile and have swift players in almost all positions who are capable of catching the opponent defence off guard. However, we were underestimated in our 1-0 win over Iraq in the Four-Nation Tournament and we were underestimated in the group stages of the AFC U-16 Championship. But here we are, we will give everything that we have in the match against Korea Republic.

India has never defeated Korea Republic in any format in football.

We are raring to go. It would not be easy but it would be worth it. If we play to our strengths, we can give them a run for their money. We will fight.

Defensively, India has been solid.

We have always believed that a solid defence is the foundation of a football team and thus we have worked hard in our defending and high pressing style of play.

The credit goes to the players for defending as a single cohesive unit and not as individuals and to their intelligent mind-sets. They read the game well for sure.

Are missed chances in front of goal still a major concern?

We are creating chances at will and we created some of the best goal scoring opportunities of the match against both Iran and Indonesia. If we had taken those chances we could have won both matches.

Is finishing a problem?

All of those matches are past and we are working on our finishing in the training sessions. Going ahead we cannot afford to be complacent in front of goal in the knock out matches. That will hurt us very badly.

How do you assess India’s performance in the group stages?

The main thing was to get out of the group stages regardless of the results. After beating Vietnam by a solitary goal, we played out two goalless draws – the first against mighty Iran and against an excellent Indonesian U-16 side. Getting out of the group stage was the primary focus prior to the kick-off and I am happy that the boys performed well and everything went according to our game plan in all three matches.

Most significantly, we got out of the group stage ahead of Iran and that in itself is a huge motivation for us.

RELATED | India draws with Indonesia, makes QF for first time in 16 years

How important was the draw against Iran?

Had we had not played a goalless draw against Iran then we would have gone into the match against Indonesia as a must win match. That one point against one of the best youth teams in the region helped us massively in our bid to progress. Looking back, you will always find out that we had more open chances than them, and that speaks volumes.

Iran defeated Vietnam 5-0 in the last group match. That is the quality they possess.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment