With an entire nation backing them, young Indian colts will look to make the most of their debut in a FIFA tournament on Friday when they take on a much experienced United States side.
In the refurbished Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the under-17 side will have a massive task at hand. Not having the experience of playing at this level in major competitions is of the many concerns for this passionate young bunch.
However, the Norton de Matos coached side will be keen to make the most of their opportunity which eluded the former Indian stars like Bhaichung Bhutia, IM Vijayan and Sunil Chhetri.
De Matos may not have been with the team for long — after being appointed as the coach in March, 2017 — but he knows it better than many that his side will clearly be the underdogs in the three clashes they will encounter in this group.
As for USA, the coach knows he cannot take on them neck-to-neck hence he will try to have a solid defence at the back and will try to hit them on the break when India win the ball from their opponents.
"I would like to have an effective defence as the US are very strong in attack. Sargent, Weah and Carleton are all very strong players. They are physical and work very hard, so we have to try and work harder," Matos said during the pre-match press conference here on Thursday.
No wonder the coach is specific about their opponent players as most of them are plying their trade in Major league Soccer (MlS) youth teams and few of them will be moving to Europe.
Most notably, USA captain and striker Sargent will sign with Bundesliga club Werder Bremen next February when he turns 18. He also played at the U-20 World Cup in Korea earlier this year, making him the first US player since Freddy Adu in 2003 to play in the U-20 and U-17 World Cups in the same year.
Tim Weah, son of former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah, is another striker and another one to look for. He signed for Paris Saint Germain earlier this year.
As for the Indian side is concerned, India will miss the services of right-back Boris Singh because of the red card he received against Iran in the AFC U-16 Championship last year. "When I signed in as a coach I knew Boris will not be able to play the first game. We will have a player ready to do his job," the coach said.
Hendry Antonay looks to be the likeliest player to fill in that void, while Sanjeev Stalin could start in the other flank as left-back.
In the heart of the defence, Anwar Ali and Jitendra Singh are the likelier candidates, while Moirangthem Dheeraj Singh will set to man the posts.
The six-feet-two inch defensive midfielder Jeakson Singh could be the player to sit in front of his defence and guard the back-line and at the same time distribute the ball from deep. Either side of him skipper Amarjit Singh and Suresh Singh are expected to play in midfield.
Komal Thatal, who scored a screamer against Brazil in the BRICS Cup last year, could be the main attacking threat, while any one of Aniket Jadhav or Rahim Ali is expected to start as the lone forward.
Man to man USA are clearly better than India in every department and the Indian coach knows it too but he still hangs on to that small percentage of chance his team might have of nicking the game away from their opponents on Friday. "USA and for that matter Ghana and Colombia in our group are big sides, top level teams. We know we have a small percentage of winning against the US but you never know what will happen in a game of football," de Matos said.
"We will prepare well for this small percentage and try to make these small possibilities count. We want to fight as a team and with help from the 12th man (the home supporters) we hope we can compete against them," he added.
Skipper Amarajit, who was sitting alongside his coach, said, "It is a World Cup match, we have been dreaming to represent the country in a World Cup. Nobody knows when this chance will come to an Indian player. We want to do something for the country and make India proud."
USA might be the overwhelming favourites for Friday's clash but their coach John Hackworth is not taking any opponent lightly and labeled India as a "very hard-working team."
"We had played them in India two years back. The result was in our favour but it wasn't indicative of the manner they play. I am sure they have improved in last year," he said.
Squads
India: Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill, Sunny Dhaliwal, Jitendra Singh, Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin, Hendry Antonay, Namit Deshpande, Suresh Singh, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Abhijit Sarkar, Komal Thatal, lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Md. Shahjahan, Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav.
USA: Alex Budnik, Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin Garces, Sergino Dest, Christopher Gloster, Jaylin lindsey, James Sands, Tyler Shaver, Akil Watts, George Acosta, Taylor Booth, Christopher Durkin, Blaine Ferri, Chris Goslin, Indiana Vassilev, Ayo Akinola, Andrew Carleton, Jacobo Reyes, Bryan Reynolds, Joshua Sargent, Tim Weah.