Male, Oct 6: A 1-1 draw against 10-man Bangladesh denting their confidence, India will need to quickly get their act together as they take on Sri Lanka in their second SAFF Championship match here on Thursday.
The Indians go into Thursday’s game on the back of a disappointing stalemate with Bangladesh, against whom they should have won considering they dominated majority of the proceedings and even took the lead courtesy a Sunil Chhetri strike.
Bu that was not to be. India are now looking forward to the Sri Lanka game to register their first win in the tournament, which they have won a record seven times.
The Blue Tigers coach Igor Stimac has also come under fire for India’s failure to win enough matches.
Despite the loss against Bangladesh, India can afford to fancy their chances against the lower-ranked Sri Lankans who have struggled throughout the competition. They have lost both their games so far while conceding four goals and scoring two.
The Islanders will look to move up from the bottom of the points table.
Chhetri will again look to score for India. Chhetri is just one goal shy of the iconic Pele in terms of international goals scored and a struggling Sri Lanka will be a great opportunity for him to scale yet another landmark in his illustrious career.
Stimac minced no words regarding the 1-1 draw against Bangladesh. “We have analysed our game against Bangladesh and we are not happy with the final result. We are two points from what we have to have in our kitty,” Stimac said at the official pre-match conference.
“So we need to do everything possible to win against Sri Lanka. We respect Sri Lanka as a team. I feel they could have two points from the two games they played. But they don’t have any, and that’s football.”
He also hinted that he may bring in some changes in the starting XI after having a final look at the condition of the players. (PTI)
