Will play to win against Turkmenistan: India U-19 football coach

Dammam [Saudi Arabia] Nov. 7 (ANI): The Indian U-19 football team will look to end their campaign at the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers, with a win when they face bottom-placed Turkmenistan in their last match of Group D at the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad Stadium here, tomorrow.

When quizzed about their upcoming opponents, Indian U-17 head coach Luis Norton de Matos admitted that Turkmenistan are an aggressive team who will surely be looking for a win after losing both of their matches so far.

Matos, however, said that his side would still remain focused and would be playing for a win to end the qualifiers on a high note.

"Turkmenistan are an aggressive team going forward and they have lost both their matches so far. They will be playing for a win for their pride and we will be doing the same. We will be playing for a win and looking to end the qualifiers on a positive note. However, we still need to stay focused and concentrate on the pitch as Turkmenistan proved (with their 0-1 loss against Saudi Arabia) that they are not an easy team to play against. They will give us a very hard fight till the end," Matos said.

Earlier, the Indian U-19 football team settled for a goalless draw against Yemen in their second match of the tournament.

Reflecting on India's performance against Yemen, "It was a good performance against Yemen and it could have been perfect if we had got the win. We have to take our chances in the final third and score goals. We had three to four clear goal-scoring opportunities against Yemen and if we could have taken them we would have been deserved winners. We need to buckle up and be clinical in front of goal."(ANI)