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Preview: In a must-win match, the Indian men’s football team take on Bangladesh in the Group A clash at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Thursday.
India started their campaign with a heavy 1-5 loss against China on Tuesday which has impacted their chances of making it to the knockout stage. India will need to win their matches against Bangladesh and Myanmar (on September 24) and also have a better goal difference.
The top two in the group, and the four best third-placed teams out of the six groups will qualify for the Round of 16.
The top two in the group, and the four best third-placed teams out of the six groups will qualify for the Round of 16.
India played against China without any preparation and rest and after much confusion regarding the squad. Although in the first half, Rahul KP equalised to make it 1-1, but China completely dominated the match and the scoreline could’ve been more if not for missed chances.
“This is our third or fourth-choice team here. I would love to play against China with my best team. Then it would be totally opposite, but the players that are here are heroes,” India head coach Igor Stmac said.
“What they went through, with travelling problems, arriving here very late, not having time to recover and handling the first 45 minutes in a brilliant way.
“I was realistic and knew that it wouldn’t happen (to get a drawn match). With no-one on the bench, apart from three players which we had, we couldn’t make any tactical changes. We couldn’t influence the game in the second half,” he added.
Also on Thursday, the Indian women’s football team will open their campaign against Chinese Taipei.
India vs Bangladesh starts at 1.30 pm.
India vs Chinese Taipei starts at 5 pm.
