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FIFA Under-17 World Cup: Blue Cubs impress but have long way to go

Despite losing all games, Indian boys have shown they have prerequisite skills but need more top flight exposure

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Jeakson Singh celebrates after India’s lone goal against Colombia
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A big 4-0 loss against Ghana didn't come out of the blue. In fact, the general feeling amongst all the football experts was that Ghana tie would be the toughest. And, it proved to be so.

Two late goals dampened the spirits of otherwise a spirited host side on Thursday night here at the packed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Ghana were clinical and showed why they are considered serious contenders to lift what could be their third U-17 World Cup trophy.

India, unlike in their previous two outings against the US and then Colombia, failed to create even a single chance against a champion team.

Coach Luis Norton de Matos talked about "tired legs".

With change of strategy — to go for the kill from the start, the Blue Cubs tried to match the pace o West African opponents.

The game was played at a even pace and that's where Indians lost the plot. They somehow managed to stretch their energy till the break, but were seen struggling to keep Ghana forwards in check for the remaining 45 minutes.

The Black Starlets controlled the midfield and then asserted their superiority by flooding Indian half with speedy moves. Their ploy worked as Indians were soon seen retreating deep into the last third. To make it simple to understand, Indians were playing like 4-5-1 formation, thus not even attempting to go ahead.

"Our team was finished physically by first 45 minutes. There was no energy left in them to match that pace in the second-half. If they had to play one more match, they couldn't have played as they didn't have any energy left. But this Ghana team can play eight such games with same intensity," said Matos.

To put things in perspective, India were playing their first ever World Cup across all age groups, while all other teams in their Group A were regulars and exposed to playing against the best in the world. while their group opponents play the senior World Cup regularly.

"After two hard games, it was complicated to play a side like Ghana. African teams at this age-group level are very tough. Ghana was the toughest team and the difference was very big between us. Our best chance was in the first two games," said Matos, who is from Portugal

He was right.The difference in quality between two teams was huge. Still, the credit goes to De Matos and players to have put up spirited performances in all three games.

The coach obviously got miffed when asked if "conceding nine goals in three games was a good result".

"I would love to see how Indian senior players perform against senior teams of these countries," De Matos shot back, adding: "Had it been Nepal, Bhutan or Maldives, it could be different. But I am proud of this team and we need to invest in them."

Pointing out that the standard of the U-17 World Cup is far higher than the I-League and the Indian Super League (ISL), Indian chief coach feels that his boys have taken away valuable lessons from the tournament which will help them as and when they will play at the senior level.

"They (U-17 boys) are as intelligent as others. This (U-17 WC) is better than I-League, this experience is stronger than I-League. Because I know very well when the ISL teams go to play against the fourth division sides in Spain, they lose," De Matos didn't mince his words after India's last league game on Thursday night.

Going forward, the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) move to include U-17 boys team in the I-League is a welcome move. But, like Rome was not built in a day and this should also be seen as stepping stone for the game to develop in India.

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