India U-17s are strong, have to prepare well against them: Japan boss Moriyama Yoshiro

The interaction was insightful and gave an account of what the tacticians are feeling as the tournament inches closer.

The 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup is underway in Thailand. It takes place from 15 June 2023 to 2 July 2023. The Indian U-17 football team is in Group D of the competition and plays its first game against Vietnam U-17 on 17 June 2023 while Japan U-17 takes on Uzbekistan U-17 two hours prior.

As the Group D fixtures get closer, the head coaches of all four teams involved took part in a press conference and answered important questions from the media. Bibiano Fernandes was confident of his side doing well. Here is what the other three coaches had to say: 

Preparation for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup

The head coaches of Japan, India, Vietnam and Uzbekistan gave an honest account of their respective preparations for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup. Talking about the same, the Japan U-17 head coach Moriyama Yoshiro said, “We trained for five days in Japan and arrived in Thailand three days ago. We adapted to this climate. Some players picked up injuries but have already recovered for the match tomorrow.”

https://youtu.be/2jdxmDQZd5g

On the other hand, Vietnam U-17 head coach Hoang Anh Tuan indicated a lack of time together by saying, “We did not have enough time to train together (due to a change in the youth league system back in Vietnam post Covid-19 pandemic). So we prepared for around one month before the competition and we are proud of qualifying for this tournament by finishing first in the qualifier group. I hope that we bring a fighting spirit and achieve success at the competition.”

Lastly, Uzbekistan U-17’s head coach Jamoliddin Rakhmatullaev said, “We are ready to show our best in this tournament. I am sure that the teams in our group are good and we are waiting for the interesting games.”

Expectations

All three head coaches were realistic and yet ambitious in their expectations from the AFC U-17 Asian Cup. Talking about their targets, Japan’s Yoshiro said, “The players can give the performance. I told them to not be afraid of making mistakes. The other three countries are good teams and I am excited to play matches with them.”

The Vietnamese head coach was of the opinion that his players will pass the examination of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup with flying colours while Uzbekistan’s head coach commented, “I can say that our preparations were good (having played against teams from Europe and South America including Argentina) and our target minimum is qualifying for the World Cup.”

Opinion on the Indian team

While talking specifically about the Indian U-17 team, Japan’s head coach said, “In 2017, the FIFA U-17 World Cup was held in India and that team was very organised. The players’ quality was high. This time, the Indian team is strong and we have to prepare well for the match against them.”

Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Tuan said, “We have respect for all the teams in the group. I don’t think about which is the strongest team in the group. We will try to give our best performance,”

Uzbekistan’s head coach mentioned, “We played two friendly matches against India in Goa. I know that this team is very strong and has individually good players. I know this team well but cannot say anything certain right now. I am sure they can show their quality in games in this competition.”

Hoang Anh Tuan on feeling pressure

Before their opening game against the India U-17 team, the head coach of the Vietnam U-17 team feels that if Vietnamese fans come to the stadium, it will play as a relaxing factor rather than cause pressure. 

In this context, he was quoted as saying, “I don’t have pressure if fans of Vietnam visit the stadium (vs India). I think, with more fans coming in, we will feel more satisfied and relaxed. I hope the players would feel the same as myself. But, it's not easy to predict a youth player’s mentality. However, I hope with more fans coming, we expect to have a good game against India.”