India’s head coach Thomas Dennerby had said before the match that it would be difficult to score goals against his team after preparing well since February. During the match, however, his players were not seen giving competition to the rival team from anywhere. The country’s first match at the Women’s World Cup in front of the home crowd turned out to be a nightmare.
The Indian team, which made it to this age-group tournament on the basis of host, had to bear the brunt of its poor defense play against the runners-up of its opening season in 2008. The poor performance of the Indian team in the match can be gauged from the fact that in the first half, America kept the ball under control for 70 percent of the time.
The Indian team could penetrate the US defense only twice, but not once did the shots of their players reach the goal-post. India now have to play against Morocco on 14 October and Brazil on 17 October.