India vs Malaysia: Manolo Marquez’s side aim for first win of 2024 against familiar rivals

The Match

India vs Malaysia, FIFA International Friendly.

November 18, 2024 at the Gachibowli stadium, Hyderabad.

7:30 PM kickoff (stream on JioCinema, live blog on espn.in).

The big picture

India have one last chance to avoid the ignominy of going the entirety of 2024 without a win when Manolo Marquez’s side take on Malaysia in a one-off friendly in Hyderabad.

Marquez is still without a win in charge of India and will be hoping his fortunes change against an opponent India has played the most number of times (32). The two teams last met in the 2023 edition of the Merdeka Tournament, where a see-saw game saw Malaysia run out 4-2 winners.

Plenty of players on both squads remain, and the similarities of both teams do not end there. Malaysia also have a new man in charge with caretaker coach Pau Marti (also hailing from Barcelona like Marquez), and are ranked slightly lower than India’s 125 at 133. That ranking will not change no matter the result, which guarantees India a Pot 1 slot for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in March of next year — which is the national team’s next assignment.

India will be aided by the return of Sandesh Jhingan in defence, but injuries to Asish Rai, Aakash Sangwan and Nikhil Poojary have disrupted plans, with Rahul Bheke and Jay Gupta likely to cover — with Hmingthanmawia Ralte also an option. Anirudh Thapa’s injury with Mohun Bagan has also meant a call up for Vibin Mohanan and Thoiba Singh Moirangthem in midfield, with Irfan Yadwad also a new face upfront as Marquez experiments.

While India are in search of their first win in 2024, Malaysia have won the Merdeka Tournament under Marti, defeating Philippines and Lebanon. A loss to New Zealand was a minor blip (and ended their chances of overtaking India in the rankings and thus enter Pot 1) before a 3-1 win to Laos a few days ago.

Key Players

Farukh Chaudhary

India’s top-scorers in the ISL are Sunil Chhetri and Subhashish Bose with three goals each. In 270 minutes of football, Manolo Marquez’s side have only managed to score once. Clearly, the focus will be on where the goals come from. Farukh Chaudhary was brilliant in the draw against Vietnam, and if he leads the line once more, he could prove to be pivotal to India’s fortunes in this match.

His teammates haven’t been firing on all cylinders at club levels, and Farukh will have to hope that some of them, such as Lallianzuala Chhangte, rise above and provide him service.

Safawi Rasid

It’s hard to look beyond the current top-scorer for Malaysia, even if he doesn’t always operate as an attacker. Rasid’s energy and runs always find him in dangerous positions on the pitch – and he usually converts.

Malaysia’s fast-paced counterattacking style suits him and he’ll prove to be plenty of trouble for India’s defence.

Concerns for India

India’s shift to a front-foot approach in the second half against Vietnam saw them create plenty of chances, but also concede a fair few. India’s options in defensive midfield haven’t been stemming the transitions, and Marquez has his work cut out in fashioning a rest defence. The return of Jhingan will help, but against Malaysia’s energetic press, India’s midfield could be overrun, leading to greater pressure on the defenders.

Scoring remains an issue, but Marquez’s side has been steadily improving their attacking forays, and with Malaysia’s defence also having gaps, India could capitalise

Concerns for Malaysia

Matthew Davies, Feroz Baharudin, and Arif Aiman Hanapi have returned to club duty with Johor Darul Ta’zim, which gives caretaker coach Pau Marti a bit of a selection problem, with Davies and Hanapi regular starters under him. It will require a rejigging of formation, although Malaysia’s squad is chock-full of adaptable players in a multitude of positions.

What will give Marti some pause is also the fatigue levels of his players, who played a match against Laos on November 14 and might not have had enough time to recover — compared to India, who are only playing the one game this international window.

What they said

Manolo Marquez

“It’s a friendly game but it will be good to check the level against a Pot 2 team in the qualifiers. We have gone a long time without a win, so obviously we want to win. We want to show the improvement that we’ve been making in every training session.