Suzhou, -- India's return to the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup after 21 years began with a 0-2 defeat against Australia on Saturday, but the immediate post-match assessment from within the camp remained grounded in realism, with a clear focus on areas that need improvement ahead of the next challenge against Japan on Tuesday.
Head coach Pamela Conti acknowledged the difficulty of the contest against a physically dominant opponent while pointing out that the decisive moments came from within.
"It was a difficult match. We knew Australia had a lot of quality, and it was going to be hard to play with the ball," she told the-aiff.com.
"I think the team did very well defensively. It was important not to concede many goals, and in the end, the two...