Stephen Constantine India Puerto Rico International FriendlyAjith Namboothiri

Under-17 World Cup: Stephen Constantine - I want India to do well

India shall play their first game against USA on October 6 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi in the Under-17 World Cup.

Apart from USA, India are to come up against the likes of Ghana and Colombia in Group A.

Stephen Constantine, who is the head coach of the senior Indian national team, had a 10-day stint in February with the Under-17 boys after Nicolai Adam parted ways earlier this year.

Article continues below

He believes that should Luis Norton de Matos’ unit to perform very well and qualify for the round of 16, it will be a great achievement for India.

“The thing with the U17 World Cup, one team can beat the other. I want India to do well and qualify from the Group at least, that will be a massive achievement, but they are in a difficult group. I had one week with them, about seven weeks ago and since then, there have been changes,” he told reporters at Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday evening.

Praful Patel Indian U-17 World Cup SquadAIFF Media

Speaking on the Indian senior team who are to face the Macau test in Bengaluru on October 11, Constantine is eyeing another three points which shall guarantee India a berth in the 2019 Asian Cup in UAE.

“The boys know the importance of the game, they know what this could mean for them, Indian football and everybody connected with Indian football. It is not just a big game and hopefully we will get the three points.

“It is in our hands and feet. We know the type of football Macau will try and play. Pretty much as they parked the bus, we will have to be patient, continue to do the hard-work and try to find something to unlock them,” he signed off.

Advertisement