DHAKA: Syria stay India’s next hurdle in the AFC U-23 Championships in Dhaka. The kick-off on March 29 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium is at 2.30 p.m. IST.
After playing their hearts out and holding Asian giants Uzbekistan goalless till the 88th minute only to go down to two silly goals, both of which were school boyish.
“The boys are understandably disheartened. That’s the biggest challenge for us as coaches to get them motivated and ready or the next match,” Head coach Savio Medeira stated. “We need to bring them back,” he adds. “We have to motivate ourselves and stay motivated.”
“We are speaking to them. There are two more matches to go in the championship and we won’t get a chance to play together as a team again,” he stresses. “I am really proud of the manner my boys played against Uzbekistan.”
National coach Stephen Constantine, the head of delegation is present here more as an observer. Unlike many of his predecessors he is present at training session and even team meetings.
“Savio is here as the coach for the three matches. I am here to run my eyes around,” Constantine smiles when you approach him.
With the National coach around it’s the best chance for the boys to impress him and maybe, get a call for future matches. Constantine smiles again and then all of a sudden his eyeballs don’t move. He is focusing on the sessions.
And there was even certification of India’s performance from him in another of his tweet. It read: ‘U-23s went down 0-2 they played well in patches especially in the second half when they changed the system, two silly mistakes cost us.’
Defender Pritam Kotal, nevertheless, shrugs off the disappointment as the team gears up to look ahead. “We need to learn from our mistakes. Repenting won’t help us as it won’t come back. We need to stick to the instructions of the coach,” he mentioned.
