AFC U-16: India looks to make amends against Saudi Arabia

India had started off well in the last match against the United Arab Emirates, but failed to sustain the momentum and eventually succumbed to a 3-2 defeat. Coach Nicolai Adam said that the team is keen to win and will put its best foot forward.

“The atmosphere after the opening match was not good. But I told them that we have to experience the suffering, and that energy we will put into the next game,” said coach Nicolai Adam.

India will look to put behind the disappointment of its opening match loss to the United Arab Emirates and get its act together when it takes on Saudi Arabia in the second group A encounter of the AFC U-16 Championships, here on Sunday.

India had started off well in the last match but failed to sustain the momentum and eventually succumbed to a 3-2 defeat.

Coach Nicolai Adam said that the team is keen to win and will put its best foot forward.

>Nicolai Adam: 'Saudi Arabia are as strong as UAE'

“The atmosphere after the opening match was not good. But I told them that we have to experience the suffering, and that energy we will put into the next game,” said the coach.

“I don’t consider the game a must-win. We will continue our work. But we want to win and we will do our best,” he added.

Saudi Arabia also put in a dominant first-half showing in its opening fixture but was poor after the break. It will also be desperate to turn the tables around when it takes on the home team.

“Losing the first game, especially in such a scenario, was of course upsetting for the whole team,” said coach Mohammed Al Abdali.

“But we have worked on maintaining the players’ confidence and I hope they will show great spirit tomorrow.

“India are a good team and we expect a tough game. Both sides need to win, which makes the task harder. We need the win as much as they do,” Abdali said.