NEW DELHI: India U-16 national team head coach Bibiano Fernandes sounded positive about the ‘tough draw’ for India’s campaign in the AFC U-16 Championship Bahrain 2020, reiterating his belief in the ability of his boys to perform at the big stage.
In a live chat with AIFF TV, Bibiano said: “I was following the draw live but I did not keep any expectations for it. When I saw our group, I told myself that my team has already given a good account of themselves in qualifiers. I believe from the bottom of my heart that these boys can perform against the countries in the group.”
The draw which was held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday (June 18) saw India being clubbed alongside Korea Republic, Australia, and Uzbekistan in Group C. India had in the last edition in 2018 lost to Korea Republic by a solitary goal in the quarterfinals wherein a victory would have earned them a slot in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
However, Bibiano dismissed notions about the match against Korea Republic to be a ‘revenge match.’
“It looks like that — doesn’t it,” he laughed. “But Korea will also think on the same lines. What’s important at this stage is how soon we can get back to training. The boys need to hit the right chords before the tournament starts.”
“There are so many things you can learn. The way you look at the tournament and change your approach is one of them. We learnt from our experiences from 2018 and have hence, changed and instilled the learnings while scouting these boys, and also in training.”
With all footballing activities in India under the aegis of AIFF staying suspended and with the subsequent lockdown from March onwards (for over a month) having forced all to stay indoors, Bibiano has been in touch with the boys via online sessions.
