Football News: India were not surprised by the physicality of the teams in their Asia Cup group but now have the experience to test their mettle against Syria, captain Sunil Chhetri said on Monday (22 /01).
India are bottom of Group B after losing to Australia and Uzbekistan, they are yet to score a goal.
“One thing we are sure of is that we have to deal with their physicality. It is not a surprise when we face Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria,” Sunil Chhetri told reporters before the last group match, Tuesday (01/23).
“What helped us was that we played two games against quite physical teams. The most important thing is that we corrected the small mistakes we made in the first two games.
“We can't change things completely, but knowing how we play physically, we have to correct the mistakes. Against these two teams, it gave us the experience we need to play a physical game.”
India coach Igor Stimac said he knew what to expect as both teams were aiming for a result that could help them qualify for the knockout stages.
“All three teams are similar, very physical and play the same way. We don't really have any reason to change our approach,” Stimac said.
“What's interesting in Syria is that they use the same 11 players, they have a small bench with two or three substitutions. They are obviously limited on the bench. We will try to see if they are fit for tomorrow's (Tuesday) match.”
Article Tag: Syria, Sunil Chhetri, India
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