We need to grab our chances: Gurpreet

With FIFA U-17 World Cup just eight days away, senior national team custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said India should “make most of this opportunity.”

“It’s a great honour for us as a country and footballers and football lovers to have something like the World Cup happening in our nation”, he said. “We need to make the most of this opportunity.”

With six venues across the nation hosting the matches, the infrastructure has been revamped and modernised according to FIFA guidelines. “I think the boys are very lucky to have an opportunity like this. I wish I had such a platform. It will certainly help them to develop their careers. I hope they use it in the right way. I wish all the luck to them,” Sandhu said. 

De Matos confident
India under-17 coach Luis Norton de Matos believes if his boys play to their best, they can put even the best teams in the World Cup.

“If we play to the best of our abilities, we can put a lot of good teams under pressure and give them a run for their money. Even if there is five percent chance of winning a match we will fight for the margin and try to extend it. On our day, we can put strong teams under pressure,” Matos said.

“The players are very focused and are very proud to play for the country. It is evident that they are raring to go. The boys know the meaning and sentiment of wearing a National Team jersey in a mega tournament like the FIFA World Cup. The sentiment of wearing the national colors and giving your all for the country runs deep in this team”

“In football anything is possible and we will take to the field keeping in mind that fact”.

India have been draw in Group A of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India with USA, Colombia and Ghana, and incidentally Colombia, the first team to arrive in the nation for the FIFA World Cup, are practising at the same training ground as India.