Alex Ambrose: I don't want to get into the emotions of playing Pakistan

India plays Pakistan first and all that the coach is focused on is getting three points.

The India U-19 women's team pose at the airport after arrival in Thailand.

It’s India versus Pakistan again — this time in the AFC U-19 Women’s Qualifiers in Chonburi, Thailand. The kick-off on October 24 (Wednesday) is slated for IST 2.30pm.

Even as the injury of forward Asha Kumari came as a setback for the team, India U-19 Head Coach Alex Ambrose is in no mood to sit back and mourn over it. Rather, he is focused on achieving the “best results possible.”

A day prior to India’s first match against Pakistan U-19, Ambrose spoke at length to AIFF about the preparation, AFC Qualifiers as a platform, the strength of the squad and much more. 

EXCERPTS

We are playing Pakistan in the first match. Your thoughts?

I don’t want to go into the emotions of playing a big rival. It may only make us lose focus on what our real objective is. All we want from our first game is three points. There is no special treatment as such for Pakistan. I want the girls to play to our plan and execute the ideas properly on the pitch, regardless of who we are playing.

What are your expectations?

I would be great if we can qualify (chuckles). I am aware that we have a good chance of making it to the next round. But we have to build on all the hard work that we have put in so far to achieve the desired results. It all depends on how we react on the matchday. Most important of all, we need to stay in the right frame of mind.

Read: India U19 women's team arrives for AFC Qualifiers

How big is this platform for the young girls?

This is a platform for the players to develop themselves. That is the most important thing when it comes to any tournament at the junior level. We have had a good outing at the SAFF Championships in Bhutan and a couple of fruitful training camps as well. Hopefully we can take forward all the learnings from these experiences and use them to qualify for the next round.

How much did the SAFF U-18 Women’s Championship help the girls gel together ahead of the big AFC qualifiers?

The SAFF Championships were a good opportunity for the girls to get a grip on what to expect from each other. It always takes some time for the players to get to know each other’s games, so that helped us a lot in that regard.

We got four games from that tournament, and mind you, these were all competitive international games. So they are bound to rub off on the girls, and give them some experience. The game against Nepal (Nepal won on penalties after a 1-1 draw) was especially a tough one. I’m sure they have learnt a lot from it.

You have now had two training camps with this squad.

Rome was not built in a day. These girls are very young, and they are constantly learning new things every day. I have not tried to alter much as I came in just about a month before the schedule. With that much time it’s better not to change things but rather improve on the system that is already in place.

Obviously, these girls will get better with time. They need to get as many games under their caps as possible. However, they are quite adept, both tactically and technically at the moment.

India's U-19 women fixtures October 24  India vs Pakistan October 26  India vs Nepal October 28  India vs Thailand