Puerto Rico coach David Guillemat was stumped by India’s display. If I keep lecturing the players, a time will come when nobody would want to listen to me. Though the match between the full-strength teams of 152nd-ranked India and Bhutan – ranked 40 places behind them – was played on a date not originally designated for internationals by FIFA, they could still have informed the world’s governing body in advance with the agreement of their opposition to grant official status to it. You may not get a similar chance for some time yet. We were not sure when we were going to play the next worldwide friendly.
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“The decision to select Puerto Rico as an opposition and to ensure that only this match would count as a Federation Internationale de Football Association friendly was a strategic one”, Das said.
India failed to qualify for the World Cup and Constantine confirmed on Saturday that he never thought the team had a chance.”When I came, I said in the meeting, “Don’t expect for us to be successful overnight”.
The British-Cypriot coach also said that his vision since taking over the national team was still a long way from being fulfilled. Whenever a draw is made, ranking comes in handy.
The 34 year-old former Arsenal, Leeds and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ player was evidently keeping a keen eye on the Indian national team’s match versus Puerto Rico, which was hosted in Mumbai, on Satirday, 3rd September. However, every match played is given points based on factors such as the ranking of the opposition, the importance of the game being played, and at the expense of the oldest worldwide fixture it replaces. Chhetri praised the way Constantine has managed the change of guard in the team and said, “Stephen is not on a mission to hand a debut to everyone”. It’s the given scenario.
India’s senior pro Sunil Chhetri played a special part in India’s historic victory with a goal and a few assists. It was a transition period. It’s just the way things are right now.
“I hope the squad of 15 gives enough reason for the coach to play the same team. It’s good but we are in a transition period and this is going to happen”. Although I am a fan of bringing in new players, but once we have those 15 players, they need to work really hard to stay in the team and stabilise the first XI.
“We lost seven games in those qualifiers”. We can’t afford concede early. “This is something we really need to work upon”, reported PTI. “And I think for me, his (best) place is behind the striker”, he added. I have played in the left wing for Bengaluru FC for three years.
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“I hate losing. So, whenever we win, it’s okay for me”. I think I did really well. “If the coach sees something in me then I will surely give it a try”. It added something to my game.
