Advertisement

Updated December 14th, 2019 at 17:04 IST

Proud of team's spirited play & creating good chances: Dennerby

Despite a 0-3 scoreline, Indian women's team head coach Thomas Dennerby said he was "proud" of the team as it displayed a spirited performance against Sweden.

Reported by: Suman Ray
Dennerby
| Image:self
Advertisement

Despite a 0-3 scoreline, Indian women's team head coach Thomas Dennerby said he was "proud" of the team as it was a spirited performance against a much higher and stronger side and team showed real good progress even in the defeat.

India lost 0-3 against Sweden on Friday in its opening match of the U17 Women's Football Tournament 2019 at the Mumbai Football Arena. 

'I am proud of the girls'

"We always want to win and can never be happy when we lose. We know Sweden is a strong team in Europe and everybody knows their senior team won the bronze medal at the World Cup this year. We should start with that. I'm definitely proud of the girls and we created some really good scoring chances. Maybe the accuracy wasn't enough in the final moments, but it's something we are working on," Dennerby said.

READ | U-17 Women's Tourney: India Lose 0-3 To Sweden

It has been less than two months since the arrival of the new coach and he mentioned that he can see a visible effort to adapt to the new system from his charges. He stated, "You can start to see - in all departments - defence, midfield, attack, that the girls are adapting more and more to what we want and are searching for. The vision is long-term and they are trying to adapt.

"With a new coach, it takes a little time for players to see what he is looking for. I think they are definitely doing very good at trying to follow the team's plans," he added.

READ | Odisha FC To Play Home Matches In Bhubaneswar From December 27

Along with the hosts, the U17 Women's Football Tournament 2019 sees Sweden and Thailand take part - both nations with a formidable record in women's football - cemented by the fact that their senior teams were both in the final round of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019. Dennerby talked about the importance of playing quality opposition and the players getting used to it.

He said: "You need to get used to playing against quality opposition. I can try to tell the girls when they have training that you need to reach this level with strength & conditioning, first touch etc. But the best way to learn is by doing it on the pitch and to understand in-game situations."

In the match on Friday, Sweden took the lead as early as the fourth minute from the spot but the Indians fought back, with Lynda Kom coming close to scoring twice in the first 20 minutes. In the second half, the Swedish attackers were kept mostly at bay by the home side's backline and India winger Sumati Kumari caused a lot of problems for the opposition defence, running in on goal and putting in some dangerous crosses.

READ | Little Known 'Messi' Saves The Day For Kerala Blasters

Dennerby reiterated the same, saying that the team got "better and better" as the match progressed. He said, "Maybe we showed a little bit too much respect at the beginning of the match and were a little bit anxious in the first 5-6 minutes. However, we became better and better. The second half was definitely good. We were compact and didn't let Sweden create many chances. We have work to do but from our point of view, it was a good start because we played a really good team."

Talking about the team's style of play, Dennerby made it clear that he wants them to develop a fluid and passing one, and games such as the one against Sweden will make them "more and more comfortable" on the ball.

"I want us to learn to play from behind and have a passing game. There will be some errors when you're trying to build from the back and sometimes players, when they are stressed, choose to take the longer kick when they have the chance to play a better pass. With time, they will get more and more comfortable to play games like this and hopefully we can bring that stress of kicking the ball away from their shoulders," he concluded.

The Indian team will play their next match of the tournament on Tuesday, December 17, against Thailand at the same venue in Mumbai.

READ | Messi Doesn't Need To Win World Cup To Be Called Great Player: Crespo

Advertisement

Published December 14th, 2019 at 16:49 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Kerala Nirmal Lottery Sambad Friday Result
a few seconds ago
How to Keep Yourself Safe from Unhealthy Air?
6 minutes ago
TMC Delgation at ECI Office
18 minutes ago
Congress Press Conference
24 minutes ago
Raw Mango
25 minutes ago
Gen Z worker goes to the salon while “working from home”
27 minutes ago
Lionel Messi
28 minutes ago
Jailed Gangster Mukhtar Ansari Passes Away
30 minutes ago
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE
33 minutes ago
Tie-dye printed shirts
38 minutes ago
Sri Lanka on High Alert on Good Friday
39 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo