- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: ANI
After loss to the USA in their first match of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022, the team’s head coach Thomas Dennerby said that his side could not handle the pressure of their debut at the tournament and early mistakes in the game cost India the match.
“I believe the girls were a bit too nervous in front of the opponents. It was their first World Cup game – they could not handle the pressure. It is very hard to control emotions at this level and against such rivals” he stated at the post-match press conference as per a press release from All India Footfall Federation.
“We played the best team so far and it was really tough for us. We were not confident enough to pass the ball or build up and they did some early mistakes into the game which really impacted our performance,” Dennerby added.
India went down 0-8 in their first match of the U-17 Women’s World Cup and captain Astam Oraon admitted what went wrong against the USA and said, “Yes, we know we were not good enough in front of them, their speed, high pressing tactics – everything was so strong.”
“We have learnt a lot from the game and will work on our areas where we are weaker to give a better performance in our next game,” she added.
When the coach was asked about how he will motivate the players from the loss, he mentioned, “The face of the coach is also the face of the player. So I will be smiling and supporting them the best way I can. I spoke to the girls in the locker room and said -‘Girls, the sun will come out anyway and we will have a new morning’. We have to accept the loss and come back even more stronger.”
Indian under-17 women’s football team started their FIFA under-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 campaign with a 0-8 defeat to the USA in their campaign opener at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha on Tuesday (11), which is Indian women football team’s biggest defeat in under-17 category.
This thrashing has put India at the bottom of Group A while the USA is at the top. In the other Group A match, Brazil managed a narrow 1-0 win over Morocco and is at second place.
Melina Rebimbas (9′, 31′) scored a brace while Charlotte Kohler (14′), Onyeka Gamero (24′), Gisele Thompson (38′), Ella Emri (52′), Taylor Suarez (58′ P) and Mia Bhuta (60′) scored one goal each.
It is USA’s biggest win at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
India next play Morocco on Friday (14) and Brazil on Monday (17).
