India U-19 women’s team take on Uzbekistan

Amman (Jordan), Nov 4 (IANS) The Indian women’s Under-19 football team will begin its AFC qualifiers campaign against Uzbekistan at the Petra Stadium here Wednesday.

In the FIFA rankings, Uzbekistan (43rd) are 10 places higher then the Indian girls, who are banking on the “fruitful” camp in Gandhinagar prior to the championship.

“It was a very fruitful one. We have settled down as a team and the camaraderie is exceptional, I must say,” coach Priya PV said.

Uzbekistan coach Vyacheslav Solokho, however, plays down the tag of being the favourites despite being the highest-ranked team in the competition.

“It will be an intense competition. Jordan are a very powerful side and so are India. I have huge admiration for football in Lebanon and know they may spring a surprise,” Solokho said.

“All of our players play in the First Division League and though we had a month-long preparation, we were together for less than a week. Prior to the championship, we have played one friendly match. I wish we had more exposure. We aim to play well and we will do our best to qualify.”