After a gritty performance against formidable Australia, face Uzbekistan in their second group match of the Asian Cup here on Thursday, aiming to assert themselves better than what they managed in the opening game. (Football News)
India lost to title-contenders Australia 0-2 in the opening match on January 13 after denying the Socceroos any success for 50 minutes. The were at their attacking best but Sunil Chhetri's men managed to avoi𝐆d a bigger margin of defeat.
The defensive compactness, especially in the first half, would be something that the Indians would like to continue against the Uzbeks, who are a bit disappointed after playing out 𒁏a 0-0 draw against Syria in their opening match.
Chhetri made the point that the Central Asian side, ranked 68t🎃h in the world as against 102nd of India, would not be as menacing as the Australians, and his thoughts coul♉d be a pointer to his side's game-plan.
"Uzbekistan are not Australia, but they're a good side nonetheless. So, it will be a big challenge in this game too," said Chhetri who missed a sco꧙ring chance against Australia.
Chhetri had earlier conceded that Uzbekistan as well as Australia are of W🐻orld Cup level but he and his team will not be too scared of the former, popularly known as 'White Wolves', after their fighting show against the Socceroos.
For sure, India will not sit back too deep against Uzbekistan. Instead, they would look to play their own game and press for counter-attacks with quick transition. The likes of Chhetri, Manvir Singh a🌌nd other for♛wards could be looking for chances which were almost non-existent against the Australians.
San𓄧desh Jhingan will, as usual, be the key man in the deep defence. A true warrior on the pitch, Jhingan led a 🔜fine Indian defensive effort against Australia.
He soldiered on with a bandaged forehead and stitched-up cuts above each eye🌱br꧑ow.
Uzbekistan are a side who have beaten the likes of China, Oman and Bolivia while drawing with Iran and Mexico in the past one year. They are currently at ninth spot among the Asian countries in the FIFA rankings.
dominated against Syria but failed to find ꦍthe target from around a dozen shots. Syria also got enough shots and that will encourage the Indians to try and score.
Uzbek captain Jaloliddin Masharipov, wh💛o plies his trade in the Greek Super League, was Uzbekistan's most impressive player in the match against Syria and he could be the man to watch for the♒ Indians.
Historical♏ly, India and Uzbekistan have played eight times against each other wit💜h the Blue Tigers having won just one. Uzbekistan were the victors five times while two matches had ended in draws.
The last match between the two sides had also gone in favour of the Uzbeks who won 2-1 in the 2001 Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lump𒆙ur.
The 'White Wolves' have not lost to India in their six earlier meetings. They erased a 2-1 deficit with two goals in the final 13 minutes to win their only Asian Cup qualification round match 3-2 i𝐆n 1999.
This will be Uzbekistan's eighth appearance in the and they reached the knock-out round in each of the previous five editions (2004-2019), and the semifinals in🤡 2011.
They lost to Australia in the🍌 round of 16 🦄in the last edition in 2019.
A win against the Uzbeks may be far-fetched but taking a point from the match is a possibility, just like the Syriansꦫ have done, and that could be valuable for India as far as knock-ou💟t qualification is concerned.
