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Venue: Bangalore Football Stadium, Bangalore
Kickoff: Wednesday, August 20 2014, 15:30 IST (LIVE on DD Sports)
Plenty of room for improvement
India made a winning start to the series but the performance was far from convincing as they created very few clear cut chances from open play and could have easily lost the game as Pakistan wasted three golden opportunities in the closing stages. Coach Wim Koevermans was quite positive after the game but the performance was a reminder that India are not among the best teams in the continent and are expected to make an early exit from the Asian Games next month. Some of the Under-23 players impressed like Narayan Das, Sandesh Jhingan and Pronay Haldar while Mandar Desai showed promise but on home soil India should be playing better against Pakistan, who are not even one of the best teams in the sub-continent.
Koevermans can point to the fact that Sunday’s game was this group of players’ first real test since the start of the preparations last month but two of the three senior players should have fared better. Francis Fernandes lacked sharpness and was hardly involved in the game while Robin Singh got needlessly sent off and thus will miss this game. As pointed out by opposition coach Mohammad Shamlan also, India U-23 looked overdependent on skipper Sunil, who was once again their most dangerous player. There is plenty of room for improvement in all departments and it remains to be seen if Koevermans wishes to rotate the team or pick a side that he believes has the best chance of making it two wins out of two.
Perhaps some of the youngsters will be a lot more relaxed in the second game now that the first was won. Pune FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh was unsure while dealing with crosses and set-pieces while substitute defender Shankar Sampingiraj was nervous after coming on for Jhingan. There were also too many mispasses with the quality in the final ball lacking throughout the game. Koevermans hasn’t got much time to ensure a vast improvement but his side must try to minimise the errors and show more authority in their display considering the fact that they have home advantage. Keeping all the negatives aside, Sunday’s win will have given the whole squad a lift as they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in front of a full house but anything less than a victory in this game could dent their confidence again and raise more questions about this side.
Seeking revenge
Being underdogs Pakistan were slight underdogs coming into Sunday’s game but the fact that they have been playing together for a long time unlike India wasn’t really evident as they rarely played as a team. Even when they had the numerical advantage, Pakistan struggled to impose themselves and when the chances did eventually come their way, the finishing was terrible. Even their highly-rated skipper Kaleem Ullah couldn’t keep his composure in front of goal and perhaps the responsibility of being captain at the age of 21 in a bilateral series on Indian soil got to him. After the game Shamlam pointed to the fact this team is young and still learning but because of his selection decisions, the man from Bahrain won’t get much sympathy from Pakistan football fans.
The reason is that Shamlan chose not to select foreign-born U-23 or senior talent, even failing to complete the maximum quota of three overage players. He even stated that unlike Koevermans, he has been in charge for a shorter period but Shamlan has actually got to spend more time with his players than the Dutchman for the Asian Games preparations. The international exposure gained this calendar year through five matches against senior teams hasn’t seemed to have brought maturity to Pakistan’s game as they made plenty of basic errors. They also felt the absence of winger Muhammad Adil as they created very openings when India had eleven on the pitch while some of their players even lost their temper during the game.
Revenge will certainly be on Pakistan’s agenda and they certainly would at least want to avoid a whitewash. Shamlan would be well aware that two straight defeats to India would not be well received by either the Pakistan public or federation especially considering he was given full authority to make bold decisions. But the former defender would have to be more aggressive as he only played with one forward for most of the first game despite the inexperience in the India backline. That showed a lack of belief from the Pakistan side and they certainly have to show more confidence if they want to level the series and return home with their heads held high. Pakistan will be boosted by the fact that Robin is suspended as the Bengaluru striker’s physical presence gave their defence a problem but Shamlan would also be hoping for his key players to step up.
Team News
India U-23
The goalkeeper and back four are expected to remain unchanged with Jhingan only coming off due to cramps on Sunday. Koevermans could rotate in midfield as Milan Singh could replace Pronay, who has a slight injury worry. The major change will be upfront though as Robin is ruled out due to suspension. Either Pune’s Thongkhosiem Haokip will be the direct replacement and operate as the target man or Alwyn George could start and play just behind lone striker Sunil. Francis is expected to keep his place despite a poor performance in the first game.
Possible XI: Amrinder Singh; Pritam Kotal, Joyner Laurenco, Sandesh Jhingan, Narayan Das; Francis Fernandes, Pronay Halder/Milan Singh, Lalrindika Ralte, Mandar Rao Desai; Sunil Chhetri, Alywn George/Thongkhosiem Haokip
Pakistan U-23
Shamlan is expected to have Kyrgyzstan-based winger Adil available for this game after missing out Sunday’s clash due to injury. Thus all three Dordoi Bishkek players – Adil, Saddam Hussain and Kaleem – could start and that will give the visitors a massive boost. Pakistan are likely to play two forwards in this game with former U-16 star Mansoor Khan an option to start alongside skipper Kaleem.
Possible XI: Ahsan Ullah; Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Ahmed, Ehsan Ullah; Muhammad Adil, Mehmood Khan, Saddam Hussain, Muhammad Riaz; Mansoor Khan, Kaleem Ullah
Key Men
India U-23 – Sunil Chhetri
The India captain got on the scoresheet once again on Sunday and showed great workrate to help out the midfield. He wasn’t at his complete best, wasting one great opportunity, and might have to raise his game even further in Robin’s absence.
Pakistan U-23 – Kaleem Ullah
It is possibly a bit unfair that Kaleem also has to bear the responsibility of leading the side as already there is a lot of pressure on him to do the scoring. But the 21-year-old would also be hoping that he is played upfront from the start and he would be looking to make up for the misses in the first game.
