India vs Uzbekistan, AFC Asian Cup: we have the live blog below for India’s second match in Qatar:

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India vs Uzbekistan Preview

After an impressive defensive performance in their loss against Australia, India will look to build up on that against Central Asian giants Uzbekistan on Thursday. Coach Igor Stimac knows the importance of the match (despite all the downplaying he did pre-tournament) and has hinted at a more attacking performance this time around.

“It is a huge match for us,” he said. “The first game was an experience for the boys, and now we face another difficult match. Uzbekistan are a very competitive side, and since they did not gain a victory in their last game, we expect them to put a lot of pressure on us. But our boys are ready for the challenge. We are happy for this opportunity that lies ahead of us, and our mentality will be to win the game and get three points,”

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He will, though, continue to be without chief playmaker Sahal Abdul Samad as per reports coming out of Doha. The participation of Lallianzuala Chhangte, another key attacker, is also doubtful.

“We do have a couple of players with some issues after the Australia game, so we will see what team we will go with against Uzbekistan,” said Stimac. “Uzbekistan dominated Syria with 65 percent possession in their last game and had many shots on goal, but Syria are also a physical side and played a 4-4-2 formation with strong counterattacks.”

Stimac, though, doesn’t want to replicate the Hector Cuper model (which he used to decent effect against Australia).

“This game will be different,” he said. “What we are looking for are more attack-minded players. We also saw against Australia that instead of just clearing the ball, we could find the flanks. We did that in the first half, but there was no intent to do the same in the second,” said Stimac. “If that happens, they will keep coming and you keep getting tired.”

Considering that the top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placed teams from the six groups, will make it through to the knockouts, this match provides Stimac an opportunity to do something special