Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar wished the India Under-17 football team as it gears up for the opener of the FIFA U-17 World Cup against USA on Friday.
Tendulkar took to Twitter and said: "My best wishes to the @IndianFootball U-17 team for the World Cup! Enjoy your game & chase your dreams because dreams do come true! @FIFAcom."
It is for the first time that India is taking part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup as a host nation. This is also the first time that India is hosting a FIFA event.
India will become the fifth Asian country - after China, Japan, South Korea and UAE - to host the tournament which was started in 1985.
Football minnows India have been grouped alongside USA, Colombia and Ghana in Group A.
Speaking on the eve of India's first match against USA, India U-17 football team captain Amarjit Singh assured fans that they will play as a unit and will try to perform at their menacing best in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
"We will try to give our hundred percent. This is the first time when we are holding world cup and our priority is to deliver our best and we will do it," Singh said.
"US is good team will try to give our best. We are glad that fans are giving support. However, our players know very well what they are gonna do tomorrow. We will work hard as we want to create history," he added.
Meanwhile, coach Luis Norton de Matos said that it was a big moment for Indian football history and he was really excited to see how his team performs in the prestigious tournament.
"It's big event for India to participate in a football world cup. I am very excited. We have worked hard. This is the first step for India in world football," de Matos said.
Matos has already maintained that he wants to show the world that "the Indian team is as organized as the rest of the world and if we can show the world that we too can play football, it would be even better".
India squad:
Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill, Sunny Dhaliwal
Defenders: Boris Singh, Jitendra Singh, Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin, Hendry Antonay, Namit Deshpande
Midfielders: Suresh Singh, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Abhijit Sarkar, Komal Thatal, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Md. Shahjahan
Forwards: Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav
(With inputs from agencies)
