Friendly Preview: India U-23 vs Pakistan U-23

Venue: Bangalore Football Stadium, Bangalore

Kickoff: Sunday, August 17 2014, 15:30 IST (LIVE on DD Sports)

Home Advantage

India will be looking to make the most of their home advantage; Photo Credit: AIFF Media

Although the India U-23 side are not serious medal prospects in the 2014 Asian Games, the AIFF have still tried their best to give Wim Koevermans and his boys adequate preparation for the tournament. The proposed tour to Spain didn’t materialise but the squad had a two-week camp in Czech Republic, where they also played three practice games. The results weren’t great as India only managed a draw and suffered two defeats against lower tier opposition but Koevermans and his coaching staff got an even closer look at the players, many of whom are playing for the first time under the Dutchman. Thus Koevermans and his assistants will have a better idea of the areas to improve upon the most and the two friendlies against Pakistan will help further in that aspect.

The preparation doesn’t end with the series with Pakistan as after that the team heads to China for another exposure tour and a couple of practice games. But facing a team that would also be competing in the Asian Games should help Koevermans decide on his starting eleven as he experimented a lot during the Czech Republic tour. Of course the match won’t only be about preparation as India are up against their arch-rivals on home soil and Koevermans will be well aware about the importance of getting a result. There will be slight pressure as well because Pakistan are a side India should be beating if they have any hopes of performing well in the Asian Games next month as the neighbours are not among the best teams of the continent.

There is no dearth of talent in the U-23 boys but it remains to be seen how quickly some of those players can make the transition from domestic to international football. Barring the three overage players – Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh and Francis Fernandes – only three players have played for the senior national team – Narayan Das, Lalrindika Ralte and Alwyn George – with Amrinder Singh and Sandesh Jingan being part of the senior setup in the past but yet to make an appearance. So this group lacks in international exposure and that is where these two games should help in their development. Many of the players though have featured against Pakistan in age-group tournaments and will be eager to impress with the knowledge that various first-team slots are still up for grabs. It may only be a friendly on paper but Koevermans’ side will be expected to win and give the country a belated 68th Independence Day gift.

Plenty of International Exposure

The Pakistan senior team is their U-23 side

There has been a contrast in the Pakistan U-23’s preparations for the Asian Games as they only started having a camp from August 4 while India’s preparatory camp began in July. Pakistan also haven’t had an exposure trip to Europe. But the fact is that their build-up to this edition’s Asian Games will be much better than the last as they are not only playing these two matches in Bangalore but will also have an exposure tour in Bahrain and after that there are reports of a possible trip to Vietnam. But above all, this series means a lot more than the football for Pakistan because ever since they hosted the India senior team in a three-match series nine years ago, our neighbours have been craving to play a similar set of matches on Indian soil.

A series involving the senior teams hasn’t been made possible so far and there have been several postponements of Indo-Pak football matches in recent years. So although these two matches are only between the U-23 sides of the two nations, it has finally broken a nine-year barrier and football fans of both countries will hope for similar matches in the near future also. Pakistan coach Mohammad Shamlan though will only have one thing in mind and that will be to win on Indian soil, which would give his boys a massive psychological boost ahead of next month’s tournament. Interestingly the Pakistan senior side is their U-23 team also as Shamlan has completely put his faith in youth and this group of players unlike their Indian counterparts have played five international matches this year against senior national teams.

Shamlan has also decided to discard foreign-born players completely both the seniors ones and juniors. They could possibly be the only participant in the football tournament of the 2014 Asian Games to not use their maximum quota of three overage players with Muhammad Ahmed being the only one. These two games will give a good indication of whether that was the right decision but one advantage Pakistan do have over India is that this group of players have been playing together since February and that too against opposition that is far superior than Koevermans’ team. While India have three seniors available, Pakistan will rely heavily on their Kyrgyzstan-based trio. Central midfielder Saddam Hussain became the latest Pakistani player to join Krygyzstan’s Dordoi Bishkek after Muhammad Adil and Kaleem Ullah and the away side’s hopes will depend heavily on their shoulders. Pakistan may be slight underdogs on paper but have the potential to win both games.

Team News

India U-23

Of the 25 players that made the trip to Czech Republic, besides goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh and midfielders Siam Hanghal and Alesh Sawant, the remaining 22 were all give some gametime. The starting XI though is likely to be the one that featured in the 2-2 draw with FK Banik Most. The defence looks inexperienced but the main problem for Koevermans is the lack of quality natural wide players. 22-year-old Mandar Rao Desai, who doesn’t even have enough I-League experience, is expected to start on the left wing with the versatile Francis on the right. The other two seniors – Sunil and Robin – should start upfront in a two-man attack and will get extra support because of their Bengaluru FC connection.

Possible XI: Amrinder Singh; Pritam Kotal, Joyner Laurenco, Sandesh Jhingan, Narayan Das; Francis Fernandes, Pronay Halder, Lalrindika Ralte, Mandar Rao Desai; Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh

Pakistan U-23

Right winger Muhammad Adil is expected to be left on the bench due to a knee injury and that could be a major concern for Pakistan as Adil is one of their most creative players. But the other two Dorodi Bishkek players – Saddam and Kaleem – will start with the former in central midfield and the latter upfront alongside young Mansoor Khan in a 4-4-2 system.

Possible XI: Ahsan Ullah; Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Ahmed, Ehsan Ullah; Bilawal Ur Rehman, Mehmood Khan, Saddam Hussain, Muhammad Riaz; Mansoor Khan, Kaleem Ullah

Key Men

India U-23 – Sunil Chhetri

Skipper Sunil scored three goals in the Czech Republic tour

Worryingly for India, the U-23 side also seem to be overdependent on skipper Sunil just like the senior team as he was their only scorer during the Czech Republic tour. But the 30-year-old seems to produce his best under pressure and will be aiming to inspire his side to victory in this series also.

Pakistan U-23 – Kaleem Ullah

Kaleem Ullah is Pakistan’s captain

There are high expectations from this 21-year-old forward and his responsibility has been increased by the fact that he has been named captain. Kaleem would be looking forward to playing against India’s inexperienced backline and is undoubtedly Pakistan’s biggest goal threat.