India, Sept. 24 -- India's forthcoming meetings with Panama, Brazil and Uruguay promise something Indian football has rarely been afforded in such concentrated fashion: a chance to measure itself against three teams accustomed to operating on a considerably higher international plane.

For Mehrajuddin Wadoo, the significance extends beyond the senior team. The former India international, recently appointed head coach of the India U-17 men's team, sees the three matches both as a test of Khalid Jamil's side and as a window into the level India's emerging generation must eventually aspire to reach.

In an interaction with Hindustan Times, Wadoo spoke about the psychological challenge of confronting elite opposition, why Panama could provide...