Under-17 world cup: We conceded a stupid goal in first half, says India coach

Agencies
October 7, 2017

Oct 7: Team India coach Luis Norton de Matos was 'happy with the performance but unhappy with the result' after his side's 0-3 loss to USA in their opening Group A clash at the JLN Stadium in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup on Friday.

Matos accepted that there was big gap between the two teams. "We started the game but slow. There was a big occasion to get a goal in first minute but after that they controlled the game. We didn't lose control and we didn't lose our focus. I am not happy with results of course," said Matos, during the post match conference.

Trailing 0-2 with about seven minutes of regulation time left, India came agonisingly close to scoring their first goal in the premier event, but defender Anwar Ali's effort hit the woodwork.

And, quiet rightly so, the ball thudding against the horizontal left Matos shattered.

"If we had scored that goal, the scoreline would have been 2-1 and USA would been different in the last 10 minutes.

"That could have changed the complexion," he said.

"I'm happy with the collective effort of the players for the team, but not happy with the results. As I had said, there is a big gap between us and other teams in our group."

After a first half in which India rarely got a feel of the ball, the host nation produced an improved performance in the second half.

"USA played with with very strong force. This was the first time for our players playing in front of 40,000 people. They missed some chances. USA was much more experienced team."

"Of course there is this big problem of culture of not playing in such competitions. It is the first time they are playing in a tournament of such magnitude." "USA played seven international games in the last two months as part of preparations. They have been preparing very hard for this tournament."

However, the match marked a historic moment in the history of Indian football, as the Indian U-17 National Team became the first ever Indian participant in a FIFA Tournament.

In the country's maiden appearance, India showed sparks in patches, but lagged way behind in class.

"We conceded a stupid goal in the first half. At half- time, it was very much possible to overturn the game," he stated.

"We were more confident in the second half. For Indian players the experience of playing in the World Cup will help them in the long run," said the 63-year-old who was entrusted with guiding the U-17 team in the mega event this March.

USA coach John Hackworth, too, was not pleased with his team's performance, but praised the Indians for their spirit and tenacity.

"I am not very happy with the performance. This is not the way we play. But India really put up fight. They were hard to break down. So, full credit to them," Hackworth said.

Asked to name one Indian player who stood out in the game, the American picked three - central defenders Anwar and Sanjeev Stalin and goalkeeper Dheeraj Moirangthem.

"The two stoppers stood out and also the goalkeeper did a very good job."

Midfielder Chris Durkin also praised the Indian team but said they got a little complacent in the second half, which was evident in their play.

USA scored in the 30th, 51st and 84th minute to emerge winners in the Group A match.

In the early minutes of the first half, India saw the efforts go off-target after USA started putting pressure on Indian goalkeeper Dheeraj Moirangthem.

USA was awarded a free-kick in the 10th minute, after the hosts committed a foul, which the boys in blue successfully managed to defend.

India were awarded the first corner of the game when Aniket Jadhav tries to cut into from the right. However, the hosts failed to convert it into a goal.

It was in the 30th minute of the game when USA put themselves ahead courtesy Josh Sargent, who successfully converted the penalty into a goal which was awarded to him after he was tripped by Jitendra Singh.

The visitors started the second half with enhanced energy and enthusiasm.

In the 51st minute, USA doubled their lead through Chris Durkin.

Though, India's star forward Komal Thotal created multiple chances and impressed the home side with his skills, USA survived the scare and started a counter-attack.

Andrew Carleton eventually pulled back the third goal for his side just six minutes before the full time to give the visitors a 3-0 lead, after India hit the crossbar.

The Indian Colts will now lock horns with Colombia on October 9, followed by their final group game against Ghana on October 12 respectively at the same venue.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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