The Indian football team take on Malaysia in a friendly at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad tonight, hoping to earn their first victory of 2024 in what will be their last attempt.
India have played 10 games this year and have lost six and drawn four, with their run of games without a win at 11 now going back to last year. The team last tasted victory on 16th November, 2023 – 368 days ago.
Manolo Marquez has been in charge for three of those games and is still seeking his first victory while overseeing the national football team. So far, India’s results under the Spaniard have been a 0-0 draw against Mauritius, a 0-3 loss to Syria and a creditable 1-1 draw away to Vietnam in their last outing.
The year of 2024 without a win has also seen India’s FIFA ranking plummet to 125, although Malaysia are ranked lower at 133, despite having a relatively positive run of late, with three wins from their last four games. Under new caretaker coach Pau Marti, Malaysia won the Merdeka Tournament in September, defeating Philippines 2-1 and Lebanon 1-0. A 4-0 loss to New Zealand followed, but they bounced back with a 3-1 win against Laos a few days ago.
Curiously, Marquez has opted to go with only one friendly during this FIFA window, as he prefers the larger training time. Six days of training sessions have occurred, allowing the Spaniard to put his imprint on the national team, as they come to grips with his style of play.
Edmund Lalrindika underlined the importance of the training camps, saying “This is our third camp with coach Manolo. He is a really great coach. The preparations have been good. Everyone is comfortable with him. I enjoy training with him. We all know what he wants from us. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
You can follow all the action from the game in our live blog, below:
