India’s head coach Igor Stimac is expecting a high-pressing game from the very first minute in the second game of the AFC Asian Cup against Uzbekistan on Thursday. The Blue Tigers suffered a 2-0 loss against Australia in their opening match and they will look to come up with a better performance in their second match.
India managed only 29%% possession and took only four shots on target against the Socceroos. Ergo, the Blue Tigers will aim to come up with a collective effort to turn the tables.
Uzbekistan is placed at 68th rank in the FIFA rankings whereas India is in 102nd position. The Croatian said Uzbekistan is a solid team and they will have to be at their absolute best against the opposition.
“Uzbekistan is a very good and competitive side. The recent results prove what kind of strength they have. They didn’t gain the victory in the opening game of the tournament, which will have them under pressure,” Igor Stimac, India’s coach, told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“We can expect a high-pressing game from the very first minute. We need to find a way to handle that. But our boys are excited and happy for another opportunity ahead of us.”
The gaffer revealed that midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad is not match-fit and will miss the game due to injury.
“Sahal is still not ready. That’s one, and we do have a couple of players with certain problems (after the) Australia game. So, changes will be there. I will not name the players who are with the problems obviously, but changes are coming,” Stimac added.
Stimac had picked a defensive midfield against Australia but said they would change their strategy against Uzbekistan.
“We are looking for more attacking-minded players because, after analysing the game [against Australia, I felt] we had many situations where we could, instead of just kicking the ball forward, we could find three players in front of us on the flanks. I was not happy because there was no intention to do that in the second half,” he said.
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