Lack of finishing is not a concern says India U-17 coach Bibiano Fernandes

Vietnam had its chances. India had theirs, perhaps a few more than their opponents. But Long Vu for Vietnam and Malemngamba Thokchom for India remained the only two scorers in a game that was tied 1-1. It may have left many desiring for more, but India head coach Bibiano Fernandes, in his distinctly calm and collective demeanor, summed it up with perfection.

“The scoreline favours everybody. And I mean all four teams in Group D (Uzbekistan held Japan to a 1-1 draw in Bangkok),” said Fernandes. “Of course, it could have been a different story if we got those three points, but we can take confidence from the display and come back stronger for the next two matches.”

Overall, starting the group stage with a point and a solid performance is something that the team can take stock of and build on.

“It was a good result for us in the end. Our boys played very well, and Vietnam also played a good game. Of course, we would have liked to get three points today, but it is what it is,” said Fernandes. “We’ll certainly take the one point from this match and move forward to the next one.”

While Vietnam enjoyed 59 percent possession of the ball, India created more chances (four), and the Blue Colts head coach takes a lot of heart from that.

“There were a lot of attacks from our end, but Vietnam also defended quite well in those opening exchanges,” he said. “It was a small defensive error on our part that led to their goal, but overall, I am happy with how the boys have done. One point puts us in a decent position, and we need to make sure we do well in the other two matches.

“Of course, there are things that we have learned from this game. We will watch this one closely and try to improve upon it and take it from there. This was just the first game of the competition for us, and I am sure the boys will be more confident, more relaxed, and put in performances here on.”

Bibiano Fernandes also clarified about the unused substitutions, "As far as I spoke to our physios and the doctor, there's no injury concern, all will be fit in the next game as far as the changes are concerned. We wanted to give them a chance but there were some key players, those players who proved in the training matches and we know we could have got something out of those players. But still, we created some chances towards the end and we got some chances, the game could have gone either way, but I'm happy with the performance."

Next up for the Blue Colts is an Uzbekistan side that held the mighty defending champions Japan in their opening match at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. While Japan created a lot of chances, Uzbekistan weathered the storm before an 83rd-minute equalizer by Amirbek Saidov canceled out Yutaka Michiwaki’s 8th-minute strike.

“Uzbekistan is an extreme side. We’ve played against them before, and we will use all the information available to us to help the team perform better in the next game,” said Fernandes. “Of course, they are a much-improved side from when we played them back in January. This will be a very different game, but I am confident the boys can work on the shortcomings and do well from there.”

Bibiano concluded by adding that he has full confidence in the team despite the lack of goal conversion, "No it's not a concern, we have been playing high-level matches in the training and we scored some good goals and I think this is just the first game in the competition and, and I'm sure in the second game they will be more confident, more relaxed and more displaying their talent and, trying to win the game as well.