Buoyed by the hard-fought draw against Vietnam, India would be keen to notch a win when it takes on Uzbekistan in its second game of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup on Tuesday.
India came from behind in the tournament opener on Saturday to force a 1-1 draw in a spirited performance.
After Vietnam took the lead in the first half through Long Vu, India’s Malemngamba Thokchom scored the equaliser in the second half.
Uzbekistan also played out a 1-1 draw in its opening game against Japan.
Amirbek Saidov scored the equaliser in the 83rd minute after Japan had taken the lead in the eighth minute through Yutaka Michiwaki.
India head coach Bibiano Fernandes said his team will take a lot of confidence from the draw against Vietnam in Group D.
“It could have been a different story had we got those three points, but we can take confidence from the display and come back stronger for the next two matches,” he said.
“It (draw) was a good result for us in the end. Our boys played very well, and Vietnam also played a good game. We’ll take the one point from this match and move forward to the next one.”
Despite Vietnam enjoying more ball possession (59 per cent), India created more chances (four).
Fernandes said, “There were a lot of attacks from our end, but Vietnam also defended quite well in those opening exchanges. It was a small defensive error on our part that led to their goal, but overall, I am happy with how the boys have done. One point puts us in a decent position, and we need to make sure we do well in the other two matches.”
The Indian coach also acknowledged that Uzbekistan is a much-improved team from the last time the two sides met earlier this year.
“This will be a very different game, but I am confident the boys can work on the shortcomings and do well from there.”
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