New Delhi, Aug 30 - India coach Bob Houghton is confident that his boys are capable of defending their ONGC Nehru Cup football title against higher-ranked Syria in the final here Monday.

'My boys are exceptional and have done well in the last three years. They have made four finals in last three years and won thrice. The success graph has been going up and I am sure they can beat any team in the continent in front of a packed Ambedkar Stadium,' Houghton told reporters on the sidelines of the practice session here.

Houghton, however, said that 95th-ranked Syria were a better team but not unbeatable.

'Our reserve side did well to keep the margin of loss down to 0-1 in Saturday's encounter. And I strongly feel that our full strength team can beat them Monday. My boys are better than what the rankings shows,' he said.

Houghton also said that he wouldn't make any change to his starting eleven.

Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chettri will play upfront while newcomer Anthony Pereira, N.P. Pradeep, Climax Lawrence and Steven Dias will make up the midfield.