India U-17 Women’s team head coach Thomas Dennerby insisted that irrespective of the depressing loss in the opening game, his team will strive to stay focused for the rest of the tournament.
“We stick to the plan that we’re trying to do. We will do whatever we can, in the next game, and if we win, there’s still a chance,” Dennerby told the media
India fell like a pack of cards against the United States, which registered its biggest win in the history of the tournament, with an 8-0 score at full-time.
“I talked to the girls about when I was in the locker room for minutes after (full-time) and said, ‘Girls, the sun is going to come up in India tomorrow anyway. And if we have a sleepless night, we will not perform better in three days, so take it for what it was,” he said after the match.
“We lost 8-0 and we know that we can perform better, but of course, the face of the coach is also the face of the player. So, I will be there tomorrow morning, smiling, supporting them, and trying to encourage them the best way I can,” he added.
India is playing in a FIFA Women’s tournament for the first time and will hope to muster some encouragement against the young Atlas Lionesses on Friday.
“I hope we can show the whole of India, everyone that India is much, better than this and we can have a better game against Morocco,” Dennerby said.
However, after the loss, the immediate intention of the camp reflects the urgency to earn its first points rather than sealing a quarterfinal berth.
“We will summarize our takeaways if we are out of the tournament with points – if it comes in the next game or if it comes against Brazil, doesn’t matter. But of course, if you look at the chances, the biggest chance to have a fair game is against Morocco,” he said.
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