The Portuguese coach was questioned if the team was defensive in their approach especially in the opening 20 minutes or so. “You talk about being defensive, I say very organised. USA played with four forwards. The number 11 (Carleton) or Akinola would play, but they played both which was a strong force with an intention to score early. We know through their past that they want to get a result in the first 20 minutes. They had occasions too,” he mentioned. He reiterated the fact that Indian players haven’t had competitive matches, something which the opposition has had in plenty. This led to the players being a little nervous and commit silly errors. “You must remember that we do not have a culture of competition. This is the first time the boys are playing in front of a crowd of 40000 and with the quality of USA. This is not a friendly tournament. The 17-year-olds, they were a little shy. They lost a lot of passes which usually they would have successfully completed. Sometime later in the game, they had the possibility to create things. USA played at least seven games in the last two months in a competition. This is very hard and it gives you vital experience. This experience helps you control the emotions at this level. “I don’t speak about individuals because the strength of the team is in the collective. There are some players that can be better but in general, I am satisfied with the collective work. They were very organized. Of course, I am not happy with the result. I never said it was going to be easy. We had a little percentage to perhaps win or draw a game. We fought for this little percentage. I thought we could have scored a goal we deserved with 15 minutes to go. USA would have played completely different had it been 2-1 and would be looking to keep the result. At 3-0, they had some control.”
