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Talismanic Indian ahead Sunil Chhetri has urged his teammates to look ahead and give attention to the match in opposition to Uzbekistan after the 0-2 loss to heavyweights Australia of their AFC Asian Cup opener. The Blue Tigers put up a gritty present to carry the Asian giants for a goalless stalemate within the first-half. But Australia, who have been the World Cup 2022 pre-quarterfinalists, demonstrated their superiority with targets from Craig Irwine (50′) and substitute Jordan Bos (73′). “There are pros and cons to this game. It’s not easy to play the best team in Asia,” Chhetri mentioned in AIFF web site.
“We are not used to playing sides like these, as we don’t play against them very often, so you never know what to expect.” The Indian skipper, who started his profession in 2005, failed so as to add to his tally of 93 targets however he mentioned the main focus is now on their match in opposition to Uzbekistan on January 18.
“It’s a mixed bag of feelings right now. Once we watch the videos, perhaps we will gain more confidence and work on the things that we could have done better,” he mentioned.
“Uzbekistan are not Australia, but they’re a good side nonetheless. So it will be a big challenge in that game too,” he added.
India have two extra matches left within the group with Syria being their final group-stage opponents.
Not all is misplaced for the Blue Tigers as they nonetheless can qualify for the last-16.
While the top-two advance directl, to make it 12 groups from six teams, the highest 4 third-placed staff full the pre-quarters set.
For goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, it was a recreation of two halves — a powerful efficiency below the woodwork within the first, whereas the second half was one to neglect.
Proud of my boys
Hailing his wards’ efficiency, Indian head coach Igor Stimac mentioned: “I am proud of my boys. They showed that they are a bunch of honest, hard-working people, who are committed to whatever we ask of them.” India confirmed {that a} aspect positioned 102nd within the FIFA World Rankings can thwart a staff positioned 77 locations above them.
“It’s frustrating when you have to play teams like these. It would probably not have been so, had it not been a team of Australia’s calibre,” mentioned Stimac.
“The second half was not good for us. We could not get out of the zone. The expectations were on the Australian players. They’re game-ready, so I am overall happy with the result.” Sandesh Jhingan led India’s backline and soldiered on with a swiftly bandaged brow and stitched-up cuts above every eyebrow.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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