Trying to build a cohesive unit for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017, coach Nicolai Adam has a tough task on hand. Prior to India U-16’s last Group E league match against Lebanon in Tabriz City, the coach shared his thoughts on the forthcoming clash, the learning process in Iran, and more.
“Our goal is to leave Tabriz City with six points. (India had notched up three points following its 5-0 defeat of Bahrain earlier.) Against Lebanon, our aim is to reproduce the performance we put up against Bahrain. We have to play to our full potential,” Adam said, according to a press release from the AIFF.
As the coach of a young group, Adam has his work cut out. “My entire support staff and I are open to learning. Our goal against Iran was to play aggressive and honest. But we could not bring on the aggression which cost us the game,” he said.
India lost that game 3-0 and according to Adam, Iran’s second goal was the turning point.
“Yeah, it killed us. It was a minute prior to the interval, and had we gone one-nil down at the interval, it could well have been a different story,” he said.
The qualifiers provide the much-needed experience for the boys, Adam added.
“It was a fantastic learning process. We are disappointed that we lost and that’s natural. In my opinion we have the potential to compete with a team like Iran.”
Talking of the scouting process, Adam reiterated, “As I said many times before, the scouting process is not finished yet and we have two more years for the same. We need to see that our players are technically and physically on par with the Iranians.”
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