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India vs Macau, AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers UAE 2019
Date: Wednesday, 11th October 2017
Venue: Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore
Kick-off: 07:30 PM
Live telecast: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1HD
Live streaming: Hotstar, Jio TV
LIVE COMMENTARY: India vs Macau
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers is the qualification process which is organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The 2019 AFC Asian Cup is the 17th edition of the international men's football championship of Asia. For the first time, the Asian Cup final tournament will be contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the format of 16-teams that was used earlier from 2004 to 2015.
India is accompanied in its Group A by Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Macau. Tomorrow, on 11th October, India will go against Macau in what could be a possible qualification for the AFC 2019.
India is sitting comfortably on top of Group A, unbeaten in the three matches in the qualifiers, and they need a victory against Macau in their group tie to seal a position in the Asian Cup UAE 2019, which Constantine feels will be a “historic” achievement. If India qualifies, it will do so for the first time after 2011.
“The game against Macau in Bengaluru is one of the most important games in our history for a long time. If we are able to win it and qualify for the Asian Cup, I think it will be an achievement,” Constantine said in Mumbai.
When India was set up against Macau earlier in September in the initial stage, the results were positive for India as it won 2-0, when the forward substitute Balwant Singh scored a brace. This is a great sign for India in this tournament, as according to the national coach Constantine, India usually is not expected to win.
Ahead of the match, Constantine talked to the media about the significance of the face-off and said that once the Indian team used to be at the level on which Macau is and to become a better team will have significant consequences for the sport in India altogether. The Indian team's tactics this time around will be to be patient with Macau and try and open up their defence as Macau will try to defend deep on the pitch this time.
Although the Indian team is sitting on top of their group, and it's all hope and smiles for the fans, the boys in blue will not let the results make them complacent. One individual who is key to Constantine’s game plan, ATK's Eugeneson Lyngdoh told the media on the sidelines of a training session on Monday: “We’re very positive and are prepared mentally and physically for the game.. In football you never know. Results can always change", said the midfielder.
Below is the squad that will be playing against Macau tomorrow, in Bengaluru:
GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith.
DEFENDERS: Pritam Kotal, Lalruatthara, Nishu Kumar, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Narayan Das.
MIDFIELDERS: Jackichand Singh, Udanta Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Rowllin Borges, Md. Rafique, Anirudh Thapa, Germanpreet Singh, Halicharan Narzary.
FORWARDS: Balwant Singh, Alen Deory, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sunil Chhetri, Hitesh Sharma, CK Vineeth.
