The meeting at the Lalit hotel was arranged by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). “Whatever happened was expected”, the midfielder stated, only to go on to talk about the prospective tougher challenges that their next opponent Colombia pose on October 9.
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In its first match, two teams from Group-A, India and the United States will clash against each other at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
Indian colts made history by playing their first ever World Cup match, but they lost 0-3 to USA. Acosta can be streaky but he made a strong case as to why he should start in the No. 10 position when the games become a lot harder after today.
“My players were shy at the beginning”. In the 24th minute, Aniket Jadhav earned a corner kick for India, but Sanjeev Stalin’s delivery was met with a fury of American headers to clear away the ball. So if we improve that. we had around 3-4 chances to score and we missed. However what could have been 2-1 soon turned 3-0 as the USA took advantage. “I want the fans to support from the first minute to the last”. “We conceded a stupid goal in the first half”, De Matos said during the post-match press conference on Friday. And while they were restricted to attacking on the counter against an equally physical Ghana, they have a significant size advantage over the hosts.
The Indian coach though believes he has a final ace up his sleeve – the fact that he is playing with few expectations.
Ibrahim found the net after six minutes but was called off-side. But India did not have defenders back to guard against a quick counterattack. The US players again started to play a possessive game to retain their one-goal lead over hosting side.
The Kiwis grew into the match after going behind and their goal came just before the hour mark when Elijah Just took a quick free-kick and found Max Mata alone in the box. “I am sure the World Cup will be a treat for football lovers”, the Prime Minister said.
“The two stoppers stood out and also the goalkeeper did a very good job”.
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The Indian side tried to attack and take at least something, but couldn’t find a way through the USA defense. “For Indian players, the experience of playing in the World Cup will help them in the long run”. India were pushed back in their own half most of the time in the face of incessant U.S. attack. Despite the 3-0 scoreline against the US, their opponents appeared to have an off game. They still have more matches to play in the group and can prove themselves a dark horse.
