'Girls could not handle debut pressure, mistakes cost us dearly'

Bhubaneswar: After loss to USA in their first match of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022, head coach Thomas Dennerby said that his side could not handle the pressure of their debut at the tournament and early mistakes in the game cost India the match.

"I believe the girls were a bit too nervous in front of the opponents. It was their first World Cup game - they could not handle the pressure. It is very hard to control emotions at this level and against such rivals" he stated at the post-match press conference as per a press release from AIFF.

"We played the best team so far and it was really tough for us. We were not confident enough to pass the ball or build up and they did some early mistakes into the game which really impacted our performance," Dennerby added.

India went down 0-8 in their first match of the U-17 Women's World Cup and captain Astam Oraon admitted what went wrong against USA and said, "Yes, we know we were not good enough infront of them, their speed, high pressing tactics - everything was so strong."

"We have learnt a lot from the game and will work on our areas where we are weaker to give a better performance in our next game," she added.

When Coach was asked about how he will motivate the players from the loss, he mentioned, "The face of the coach is also the face of the player. So I will be smiling and supporting them the best way I can.

I spoke to the girls in the locker room and said -'Girls, the sun will come out anyway and we will have a new morning'. We have to accept the loss and come back even more stronger.

" Indian under-17 women's football team started their FIFA under-17 Women's World Cup 2022 campaign with a 0-8 defeat to USA in their campaign opener at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, which is Indian women football team's biggest defeat in under-17 category.

This thrashing has put India at the bottom of Group A while USA is at the top. In the other Group A match, Brazil managed a narrow 1-0 win over Morocco and is at second place.

Melina Rebimbas (9', 31') scored a brace while Charlotte Kohler (14'), Onyeka Gamero (24'), Gisele Thompson (38'), Ella Emri (52'), Taylor Suarez (58' P) and Mia Bhuta (60') also managed to get goals over India.