After registering a solitary goal victory over Felda United in early September, the India U-19 Football national team gears up to cross swords with Malaysian club Frenz United A in the second home match of the FAM-FRENZ Asia Champions Trophy 2015.
The match is slated to held tomorrow at Vasco.
With four points from a win, draw and a loss, the Indian U-19 team is presently at the third spot in Group A of the championship and Head coach Lee Johnson's boys will aim for a win tomorrow, which will propel them to the top of the table.
Speaking at the pre-match media interaction today, Johnson emphasised on the importance of a winning mentality that comes through testing your grit against the very best.
"Frenz United are one of the best club sides in South-East Asia and this gives us an opportunity to test ourselves against the very best. It will be a tough game. They will be well organised and well drilled.
"We will have to make sure that we are switched on at all times and remain focused for the full 90 minutes," Johnson said.
"We have good quality within the squad and it is a chance for our players to showcase their talent in a competitive environment," he added.
Frenz United A is unbeaten in this year's Asian Champions Trophy and is currently at the top of Group A with seven points.
"The boys have worked hard in training and have shown an improvement in terms of their tactical understanding of the game. They need to work hard, stay focused and try to emulate what we have been working on in training," he said.
As a part of AIFF's plan to streamline the national team setup, the U-19 team has appointed Danny Deigan as sports scientist who has also been using the GPS System to test the 'fitness level' of the boys.
"The GPS system opens up a whole new portal to assess players based on their hard work and fitness. We have changed many things in recent weeks in order to enhance players' development," he said.
