Football extravaganza is again within the continent because the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will start on Friday, in Lusail, Qatar. Hosts Qatar will face Group A opponents Lebanon within the opener and it guarantees to be an thrilling encounter. For Indian soccer followers, Sunil Chhetri and Co. will kick-off their marketing campaign on Saturday in what’s being touted as a David vs Goliath conflict.
Igor Stimac’s males will tackle heavyweights Australia, a group praised by Lionel Messi throughout Argentina’s victorious 2022 FIFA World Cup marketing campaign. The Socceroos got here up towards them within the World Cup’s Round of 16 fixture and it turned out to be a tantalising encounter. Despite conceding a 2-0 lead, courtesy of targets from Messi and Julian Alvarez, Australia made the match go down the wire. Craig Goodwin made it 1-2 within the 77th-minute, and it was a nervy remaining couple of minutes for the South American nation.
Speaking after the match, Messi praised Australia’s strategy, stating that they made it ‘tough’ for Argentina because it was ‘a really bodily match’. Graham Arnold’s males are at present twenty fifth within the FIFA rankings, and are fourth in AFC. They have gained the title as soon as and in addition completed in second place as soon as.
On the opposite hand, India are ranked 102nd and are 18th within the AFC rankings. India have by no means certified for a World Cup and to face a group of Australia’s calibre shall be a large studying expertise. It is more likely to a one-sided encounter in favour of Australia however one ought to by no means depend out India’s capability to drag off a miracle. Even a draw shall be an enormous increase to India’s knockout ambitions.
Against Australia, numerous focus for India shall be on Lallianzuala Chhangte, who has turn out to be an important cog within the remaining third. The winger’s unimaginable tempo, positioning and dribbling capability shall be a relentless risk to the opposition defence. To make issues worse, he’s additionally a easy finisher, who is aware of methods to rating a aim with ease. His link-up play with the likes of Chhetri shall be vital for India.
The 26-year-old was snubbed by Stephen Constantine in 2019, and this shall be his first AFC Asian Cup expertise. Since that snub, he has slowly transitioned into one among India’s greatest gamers. Speaking to Hindustan Times, the winger showcased his calm composure when requested about his prediction for the upcoming match. Refraining from talking in regards to the match end result, he merely said, “We will play hard, and try to get the best possible result from the game. That’s all.”
India are positioned in Group B, which additionally has Uzbekistan and Syria. The Uzbeks are ninth in Asia and ranked 68th by FIFA. Meanwhile, Syria are 14th in Asia and have a FIFA rating of 91. Logically India are the least favourites to make it previous this group however something can occur in a sport like soccer, the place we now have seen underdogs like Morocco exhibiting good soccer and reaching a World Cup semifinal.
India will face Uzbekistan of their second fixture on January 18, on the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Rawdat Al Jahhaniya. Then they are going to tackle Syria of their remaining group fixture on January 23, on the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
Chhangte is aware of that it’s ‘not a simple group by any means’ however India nonetheless ‘need to qualify’. During the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, India started on a fiery notice, thumping Thailand, 4-1. After the win towards Thailand, it seemed like India had been set for a fairytale run, but it surely all got here crashing down. In their subsequent match towards UAE, India missed a number of probabilities in a 0-2 defeat, adopted by a 0-1 loss vs Bahrain of their remaining group match.
“It’s not an easy group by any means, Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria are all good teams, especially the first two. But it’s the Asian Cup, if you want to play at this level, you need to be prepared to face the best opponents in the continent. We are training hard, and we will play hard and give it our best in the three matches in the group stage, and then see where we stand. For sure, we want to qualify for the knockout rounds”, stated the 26-year-old.
Even through the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, India had been criticised for his or her poor medical strategy, which price them vital factors. It was the identical in 2019, and the Mumbai City winger feels India have been coaching laborious to be extra medical.
“That is what we are aiming for. We will try our best, and as for the clinical bit, we have been working hard in training on that aspect, and hopefully we can show some results on the pitch. It’s very important to be clinical at this level, because you are not going to keep getting the same chances over and over again. You’ve got to take the chances you get, or the opponents are so good that they will punish you,” he stated.
It shall be attention-grabbing to see how Stimac utilises Chhangte towards Australia; as a winger to create probabilities or as a supporting striker to companion Chhetri upfront. A participant of his tempo and calibre was felt lacking in 2019, with Chhetri having to do all the things alone towards UAE and Bahrain. So if India have to make it previous the group stage, Chhangte’s type shall be essential and Stimac’s function in utilizing him may even be key.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
