Bangalore: Buoyed by their 1-0 win over a dour Pakistan in the last encounter, India will look to build on the momentum when they take on the arch-rivals in the second and final football friendly match here tomorrow, before leaving for Incheon to play in the Asian Games.
India will start as favourites on Wednesday considering the plucky show they had put up in their previous match to get the better of a strong Pakistani unit. India fought hard to eke out a narrow win with 10 men sweating it out in the middle after the lone goalscorer Robin Singh was sent off midway into the second half.
However, Wim Koevermans’ men would not like to get complacent, while Pakistan will be desperate to draw the series.
“Now that we have had a look at India, we will strategise accordingly in the next match and believe we can beat India,” Pakistan coach Mohammad Shamlan Al Mubarak said.
The hosts wouldn’t want to give any chance to the Pakistanis to get an early hold on the match that could prove detrimental.
India would be banking on their wing play, which is their strength but at the same time like to improve on their final pass.
The hosts would also continue to work hard on employing counter-attacks, which according to Koevermans is the greatest quality of the Indian team.
“I think one of our greatest quality is the manner we counter-attack. There’s great balance on that front and we are working hard on it,” he said.
One aspect which India would be keen to work on ahead of Wednesday’s game is improving their defence. They had almost conceded goals on a couple of occasions in the last match. Once, Kalemullah’s header off a corner bounced off the post and in the last minute, a placement from Saddam Hussain agonisingly went wide.
India, once again would rely on captain Sunil Chhetri to create chances. His presence on the field is enough to put fear in the opposition ranks and raise the moral of the young players in the side.
