Bhubaneswar: The All India Football Federation's developmental side Indian Arrows will look to punch above their weight when they face Mumbai City FC in the third qualifier match of the Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Friday.
The Arrows, comprising of the India U-19 national team boys and the Indian U-17 World Cup team, most of them emerging from the AIFF Academy, are being coached by Luis Norton de Matos who believes that the process needs to continue.
The qualifiers of the tournament will be played between teams who finished between 7th and 10th in the ISL and I-League respectively.
The four winners will proceed to the final round of the tournament which kicks-off from March 31.
"We are in a process and we'll continue to show that we are able to showcase a good brand of football, no matter who we are facing," Matos stressed.
"We had four wins in the I-League despite being the youngest squad in the league. Moreover, the youngest highest scorer Abhijit Sarkar is in my team. My boys were chosen for the Hero of the Match 10 times. Naorem scored arguably the best goal in the I-League and mostly, the team proved their mettle against the physically superior sides."
Arrows midfielder Princeton Rebello also said that the team knows how tough the match is going to be against Mumbai City FC and they're ready for it.
"This is a competition where we can bow out on first day itself. Even after a single match. We can't let this opportunity go,'' Rebello said.
Meanwhile Mumbai coach Alexandre Guimarães lauded the All India Football Federation's developmental project saying: ''This is a very good idea of the federation to give them a possibility to compete with professional teams. This is not very usual in other places where I have been (Asia or South America) before."
"This process can be continued and it'll gain them more experience for future. I watched some games and we know how hungry they're for success."
Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, who has recently extended his ties with the Mumbai-based club, also reaffirmed the same and ratified that they are taking the match very seriously.
"All the youngsters have experience of playing in a FIFA World Cup, which is huge for any footballer. They're agile, they are learning with each passing day and we're aware of their potential. They can surprise one and all on a given day."
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