Team Herald
MARGAO: India Under-17 team arrived in the State today to sharpen their skills prior to the World Cup which will commence from October 6, across India including Goa.
The other venues to play host include New Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Guwahati and Mumbai.
Team India were seen practising at the Don Bosco ground, Fatorda under the watchful eyes of coach Luís Norton de Matos. The team was seen sweating out as the coach Matos chalked out a well planned training session for the boys.
“The team has always been coming to Goa for practice. As it was raining in Goa, the team preferred Bangalore but to our bad luck Bangalore also witnessed heavy showers and the ground too had a busy schedule occupied by other athletes for practice. As such we had no other option but to fly down to Goa for the training sessions”, informed Nilanjan Datta, AIFF media manager.
When asked if the team would play any friendly matches, Nilanjan informed that engaging teams to play a friendly at this stage is not so easy as the teams will be arriving at the end of the month.
Although, the team is in the State, the Goan fans will miss the opportunity to watch their team play live in the group stages at the Fatorda Stadium.
In the event India is placed in the Group A alongwith United States, Colombia and Ghana whereas the State will witness the matches of Group C which include Iran, Guinea, Germany and Costa Rica besides a Group D match between Brazil and Niger.
Only if India reaches the quarter-finals and if Goan soccer aficionados are lucky there are chances that they may get an opportunity to cheer their team.
