New Delhi: Indian women’s football team head coach Maymol Rocky on Thursday labelled the side’s two international friendlies in Uzbekistan as as a “challenging prospect”.
The first match is slated for Friday while the second will be held on September 2. “The conditions and facilities in Uzbekistan are great. The girls responded well to the practice sessions, and we are all set up,” Maymol said. “We are expecting a tough match against Uzbekistan. They are a very strong opposition. Coming here and facing them is a challenging prospect as they are ranked higher than us. But I’m sure the girls will give their 100 per cent to pick up a win.” Uzbekistan are currently ranked 44 in the FIFA ranking, while India are at 57th spot, having come up six places on the charts in July 2019. The two teams squared off earlier this year in February in the Turkish Women’s Cup, where Uzbekistan scraped past by a solitary goal. The team’s most recent assignment saw the Indian women finish third in the COTIF Cup in Spain, and according to forward Dangmei Grace, that experience will be “invaluable” prior to facing Uzbekistan in their backyard. “We have improved a lot after the COTIF Cup, where we faced a lot of tough opponents like Villarreal, and Spain U-19. Those games were an invaluable learning experience and now, we want to build on that and keep growing,” Grace mentioned. Grace, who played in the previous meeting against Uzbekistan, stated that the team is ready to reverse the result this time around. (PTI)
