India senior and Under-18 women’s football team chief coach Thomas Dennerby wants his wards to play with the same commitment in the next three games, the same way they took on Nepal in the ongoing SAFF U18 Championship.
India U-18 women thrashed Nepal 7-0 and will take on Bangladesh at the JRD Tata Sports Complex here on Saturday.
“I hope we can play in a relaxed manner after that good start to the tournament. But the fact remains that it’s a new game tomorrow. So we need full concentration going ahead,” said Dennerby on Friday.
“We came to this tournament with the aim of having four good games, and we are not satisfied with just one win. I hope we can come to the stadium against Bangladesh with the same energy.”
Despite India having a near-perfect game against Nepal, the 62-year-old coach feels that there is room for improvement.
“There are some small situations where we can improve the way we deal with things. I think we play a bit slow, sometimes a few too many square passes. If we can put in a few quick passes in the midfield and then play through balls like we did against Nepal. I hope we can keep going that way,” said Dennerby.
India and Bangladesh got off to flying starts in the tournament, the former winning 7-0 against Nepal, while the latter defeated the same side 4-2.
“Bangladesh have also had a very good result against Nepal, and they have been very successful in this competition in the past. But I will tell the same thing that I have always told my players — we will show the same amount of respect to all our opponents, but fear none of them,” said the head coach.
India midfielder Martina Thokchom, who made her senior international debut in Brazil last year, is a key player in the middle. She feels that the team has gradually ironed out the gaps and improved over time.
“We have been working on various areas over the past couple of months. Yes, we had a good game against Nepal, but there are plenty of areas where we can improve,” said Martina.
“We have worked one a few of them before the Bangladesh game, and hopefully we can put in a good show tomorrow.”
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