Revenge for his or her shock loss final 12 months might be on their minds after they face a tough Afghanistan of their final group match of the CAFA Nations Cup right here on Thursday.
India, then underneath Igor Stimac, had suffered an embarrassing 1-2 defeat in opposition to Afghanistan in Guwahati in a FIFA World Cup qualifying spherical match in March 2024, and the present group underneath Khalid Jamil can be desirous to make amends of that loss.
The Blue Tigers have up to now gained one match (2-1 in opposition to Tajikistan) and misplaced one (0-3 in opposition to Iran). They’re tied on three factors with Tajikistan, however forward by advantage of a greater head-to-head file.
The highest groups from every group will progress to the ultimate, whereas the 2 second-placed groups will make it to the third-place match, each to happen on September 8.
As issues stand, the Blue Tigers want a win in opposition to Afghanistan, and hope that Tajikistan don’t win in opposition to Iran in Thursday’s second sport, with a purpose to progress additional.
A draw in opposition to Afghanistan might also be sufficient for India to complete in top-2 in Group B, if Iran both win or draw in opposition to Tajikistan.
Nonetheless, a defeat in opposition to Afghanistan will lead to India’s elimination, as Tajikistan, in such a situation, could have the higher aim distinction within the matches performed among the many three groups who would find yourself on three factors every (Tajikistan, India and Afghanistan).
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India head coach Khalid Jamil, nonetheless, shouldn’t be considering of such permutations and combos forward of the essential tie.
“We aren’t considering of all such eventualities at this level. There is no such thing as a level to it. We are going to go into the sport in search of a win. It’s so simple as that,” Jamil stated.
India’s victory in opposition to co-hosts Tajikistan of their first match of the match was their first aggressive win since November 2023.
Speaking in regards to the 0-3 loss to Iran on Monday, Jamil stated, “We’re all unhappy that we performed so properly within the first half, after which issues didn’t click on for us within the second..
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“I’ll be the primary one to simply accept that I made a mistake with the substitution at that time, they usually managed to attain after it,” the brand new head coach.
“However that is as a lot of a studying curve for the gamers as it’s for the coach. We are going to take the learnings in our stride and transfer on.
“I have to commend my gamers for doing all the pieces I requested of them. They confirmed nice perspective in opposition to a group that was of a a lot larger high quality. On the finish, I feel the scoreline was not honest. We didn’t should lose 0-3,” he stated.
India (133rd in FIFA rankings) maintain the higher hand in opposition to Afghanistan (161st) within the head-to-head information, having gained 13 instances. Afghanistan have emerged victorious in opposition to India solely on two events, with seven matches between the 2 sides having led to attracts.
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India’s final win in opposition to Afghanistan got here three years in the past, a 2-1 victory within the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata..
Regardless of the historical past, Jamil is approaching the match with an air of warning.
“Afghanistan are a great facet, so we can not take them flippantly. They’ve an opportunity, and they’ll positively play laborious in opposition to us. Our final end result was not on top of things, so we have to reply likewise,” he stated.
“We’ve had much less time to recuperate, so we should be at our greatest. Those that haven’t had a lot sport time up to now should be prepared, as we’d want them to offer their 100 per cent,” stated the top coach.
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Jhingan injured
India, nonetheless, will miss the providers of centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, who sustained an harm through the match in opposition to Iran.
“I’ve by no means seen a participant as courageous as Sandesh. Even with the harm, he stored taking part in within the final match. Not many gamers can try this,” stated Jamil.
“We will certainly miss his presence. He’s a terrific motivator on and off the pitch for the others. It’s troublesome to discover a alternative for him, however this additionally permits the others to step up.”