By Tan Boon Piaw SINGAPORE: Brimming with confidence, newcomers Tajikistan have set their sights firmly on the AFC U-17 Championship trophy.

Pulod Qodirov’s Tajikistan have made a big impact in Lion City, by being the only team besides Saudi Arabia, to win all of their group matches. The sole team to have qualified for the tournament from Central Asia started with a bang, a 1-0 win against West Asian giants Iraq in the first match in Group B, beat Iran 2-1 in the second and rounded it off with a hard-fought 4-3 win against Yemen.

With Korea Republic coming up next, Tajikistan are ready to fight tooth and nail for a spot in the semifinals which also punch their ticket for the FIFA U-17 World Cup next year. The bald headed Qodirov, has complete confidence in his lads’ ability to deliver the goods. “I am not worried at all, not about Korea Republic, or any other teams. I have total belief in my players. If we play to our true ability, we can beat anyone,” said Qodirov. “Korea Republic’s defence is very unconvincing. I hope the forwards can capitalise on this.” “In my philosophy, the worried team can’t win. I am getting used to any kind of pressure, condition, and pitch. To play on an artificial pitch (in Jalan Besar Stadium) for the first time in this tournament is not a problem for us.” For Qodirov and his team, it will be a dream come true if the team goes to the semifinals in their very first attempt.

“To play at the highest level is every footballer’s dream. My players are not an exception.” With the tournament topscorer Davrondzhon Tukhtasanov in his team, Qodirov has more reason to be optimistic. But he was quick to play down the hype surrounding the ‘Wonderkid’ from Dushanbe. After being shut down by the Iraqi in the first match, Tukhtasanov made his presence felt with a brace against Iran, and followed it up with another double in the last match to lead the goalscoring chart.

“Tukhtasanov is a good player without doubt. He knows how to take the opportunity to score. But then again, one player doesn’t make a team. Every player is important to me. We must work as a team in order to reach our objective of bringing home the silverware.” Qodirov added.