The India U-17 football team were left battered against Mexico in the Four Nations football tournament on Thursday, August 3, in Mexico City. Luis Norton de Matos' side lost 1-5.
The tournament is a warm-up ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, scheduled for this October. India take on USA, Colombia and Ghana in the group stages of the grand occasion.
FOLLOW THE FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP MATCH OF OCTOBER 9 HERE
On Friday, the Indian colts go into their second match of the Torneo de 4 Naciones Tournament against Colombia. The fixture is a very important acid test for both teams as it gives them a major idea of the tactics, style of play and strategies for each other ahead of their grand showdown in October.
Even one defeat at a FIFA round-robin tournament proves very consequential.
Amarjit Singh provided the only consolation for the India U-17 football team against Mexico on Thursday and that too via a penalty. Regaining their composure and confidence swiftly is definitely what is needed for the Indian colts right now.
It has not been a very smooth ride for the India U-17 football team and De Matos in particular. Even the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in that case.
The colts were supposed to embark on an exposure trip to the United States of America early last month but that did not happen owing to visa issues. Even their tour of Mexico got hit with a patchy ground after the Mexican embassy in Delhi, reportedly, refused to issue visas to the Indian football team.
The team are scheduled to travel to Australia after their Mexico sojourn, but it seems the hopes are dashed. Reason: Weather conditions!
"The U-17 team is now in Mexico where the temperature is around 18 degrees. They will return to a hot and humid Delhi in the second week of August and are supposed to fly to Australia on August 15," mentioned AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das to the Times of India.
"It's extremely cold in Australia now and the temperature is currently ranging between 0-8 degrees. So the coach feels that the young boys will find it difficult to adjust to the climatic conditions in such a small span of time.
"In fact, we won't even play the World Cup in such severe cold conditions. Hence, he has instead asked us if we can organise a few matches or a tournament in the country to facilitate their preparations," Das added.
India vs Colombia: Match schedule
- Date: August 4
- Time: 11 pm IST
- Venue: Centro de Alto Rendimiento, Mexico City, Mexico
- Live score: Twitter
