India women's U-17 team scripted history by reaching their first-ever quarterfinals of the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup with their only victory in the group stage. India defeated Lebanon 4-0, and following the Philippines and Chinese Taipei's 0-0 stalemate, the Young Tigresses booked a place in the knockouts.
Head coach Pamela Conti called it an 'incredible achievement' as they now gear up to face hosts China in the quarterfinals. India are now also one win away from earning a direct qualification for the U-17 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place later this year in Morocco.
"It is an incredible achievement," Conti said as quoted by the-aiff-com after the win. "Nobody believed it was possible, but from the very first moment, I believed that if we trained differently, we could achieve what we have done. I am very happy. There are hardly enough words to describe it. I am only grateful to these players, who from day one have always followed everything we asked of them."
India brushed Lebanon aside with high-press game
India registered their only win in Group B after handing Lebanon a drubbing with an intent-filled game. Pritika Barman (7′, 85′), Alva Devi Senjam (36′), and Joya (72′) were the scorers for the Young Tigresses as they pressed hard in the win. "We played an incredible match. Honestly, 4-0 is even a narrow result because we could have scored more goals. What I really liked was the team’s desire to press high, to keep looking for goals, and the very important tactical organisation we showed. But the most important thing was qualifying for the knockout stage, and I am extremely happy about that," the coach said.
The coach further revealed that the team has worked extremely hard over twice a day for 'almost three and a half months'. "From the first day I arrived, I told the players that we had to work, work, and work," Conti said. "I do not know any other path to success apart from hard work. Nobody complained, nobody got tired of it. We trained for almost three and a half months, twice a day, to achieve this."
Conti eyes U17 FIFA World Cup spot for India
India are now one win away from assuring their place in the upcoming FIFA U17 Women's World Cup as the semifinalists get their places in the global event. The Indian team will face a stern test against the hosts China in their hunt for the World Cup spot. "China are a very strong team," Conti said. "They have many technically gifted players, they are good tactically, and they have the advantage of playing at home with a lot of crowd support."
"Now we know we will face China, who are a very strong team. We will try to achieve qualification for the World Cup, knowing how difficult it will be,” said Conti. But I already said before the tournament that we would play against every team with dignity, and that is exactly what this team is doing. Playing with dignity gives you something extra, not only in football, but also in life.
"We will go there to play our game, to make things difficult for them, and hopefully we can win and achieve the World Cup qualification that we all want so much."
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