Match against Uzbekistan will be a big challenge, says Chhetri

AL RAYYAN: After a gritty performance against formidable Australia, India face Uzbekistan in its second group match of the Asian Cup on Thursday, aiming to assert themselves better than what they managed in the opening game.

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 Australians were at their attacking best but Sunil Chhetri’s men managed to avoid 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 a 0-0 draw against Syria in its opening match.

Chhetri made the point that the Central Asian side, ranked 68th in the world as against 102nd of India, would not be as menacing as the Australians, and his thoughts could 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 scoring chance against Australia.

Chhetri had earlier conceded that Uzbekistan as well as Australia are of World 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 and other forwards could be looking for chances which were almost non-existent against the Australians.

Sandesh 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 eyebrow. 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.

Uzbekistan dominated against Syria but failed to find the target from around a dozen shots. Syria also got enough shots and that will encourage the Indians to try and score.