Playing their first ever match of a World Cup, the Indian teenagers put up a brave fight before the taller and more experienced USA players clinched their Group A match 3-0 at the floodlit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Friday night.
Josh Sargent (30th minute, penalty), Chris Durkin (51st) and Andrew Carleton (84th) scored the goals to give the USA three points while the Indian players created several scoring opportunities but their attempts were either off target or were saved by the opponents.
But from India’s point of view, the players’ biggest gain was that they got a taste of what a World Cup match press was like. They valiantly chased the ball and challenged their opponents without getting overawed by the occasion. They never gave up, even though they looked extremely tired at the end of the match.
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The huge advantage for the American boys was their height and strong build. The Indians looked tiny in front of them. Thanks to their height, the Americans almost always controlled the aerial ball with their heads while the Indians could barely jump enough to snatch the ball and clear it.
Despite these disadvantages, the Indian team coached by Portuguese Luis Norton de Matos, won the hearts of the 46,000-plus spectators who watched history being made as Indian made their debut at the under-17 World Cup. The crowd lustily cheered on the team even as de Matos intensely involved, shouting instructions constantly.
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India's next play will be against Colombia on Monday at the same venue.
Earlier, USA have competed in 15 of the 16 editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, missing only the 2013 edition. Although the Americans have reached the quarter-finals on four occasions, they have never won the title. Their best performance has been the fourth-place finish in 1999 in New Zealand.
Earlier in the day, twice champions Ghana opened their campaign on a winning note, beating Colombia 1-0 in a Group A match at the same venue in New Delhi. Ghana collected three points from the win. The ‘Black Starlets’, who clinched the under-17 World Cup in 1991 and 1995, won through a 39th minute superb goal by midfielder Sadiq Ibrahim, though both teams looked almost equal in strength throughout the match.
In the two other opening day matches, played in Navi Mumbai on Friday, Paraguay edged past last edition’s runner-up Mali 3-2 while New Zealand and Turkey played out a 1-1 draw.
