Women's U-17 World Cup: We need to fight it out against Morocco, says Thomas Dennerby

Bhubaneswar, Oct 13: India coach Thomas Dennerby on Thursday asked his players not to think about the disappointment of the defeat against the United States in their campaign opener in the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup and fight it out when they take on Morocco on Friday.

India will be hoping to gain their first points in the Under-17 Women's World Cup in the Group A match at the Kalinga Stadium here on Friday.

"We have a good chance against Morocco tomorrow. If we can show the right attitude, we can score and get some points," said Dennerby on Thursday. "We need to fight it out -- we have no other option left," he said.

"We have a team that can definitely handle the speed but football is not all about running or the number of sprints the girls take. It is also about taking the right decisions at the right moment. That was the biggest problem we faced against the USA in our early game -- the girls need to put their hundred percent on the pitch," Dennerby further added.

Morocco lost 1-0 against Brazil in the opening match of Group A and neither India nor Morocco are yet to log a point, India stand at the bottom of the table because of a poorer goal difference. A win for India would help the home team stay in contention for qualifying for the next round.

"Morocco are a strong team, who defends well. They are technically good with their passing game, the accuracy is also impressive," the coach was quoted as saying by the All-Inda Football Federation in a release on Thursday.

"We have watched them play against Brazil and scoring against them will be a challenge. But for us, it is either a win or out of the tournament. The girls need to play free football and they should avail every chance that comes their way. If they are afraid to hold on to the ball, then they may lose the game immediately," said the Swedish coach.

The coach feels that the match against Morocco is a perfect opportunity for India to make a strong showing.

"The fans felt we weren't good in our last game. But this time, we have got a chance to handle the game in a better manner and show them that India certainly can play a better brand of football."