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India’s biggest threat in their AFC Challenge Cup 2014 qualifying group will be Myanmar, as the South-East Asian nation are not only ranked 13 places higher in the FIFA Rankings, but also will have home advantage.
The last time an Indian team played in Myanmar was back in March 2011 when the India U-23 side, coached by Desmond Bulpin, earned a 1-1 draw against Myanmar U-23 in the second leg of the 2012 Olympic qualifiers.
India had won the home leg 2-1 and that 1-1 draw against a ten-man Myanmar saw them progress to the next round where they lost to Qatar 4-2 on aggregate. CS Sabeeth scored a late equaliser, but India couldn’t really celebrate their progress, as local fans pelted stones and water bottles at the India players after the final whistle.
Recalling that afternoon in Yangon, East Bengal goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who played both legs of that tie, told Sportskeeda: “Yes there was some crowd violence as we went through with a late goal and they had a man sent off. They threw bottles at us and it got a bit ugly.”
The atmosphere is likely to be hostile once again when India play in Myanmar in March next year but Gurpreet expects the host nation to control their fans.
“I don’t think there will be crowd violence again because the Myanmar FA would want to ensure that the scenes from that Olympic qualifier are not repeated. I think there will be more security as this is a very important international competition,” Gurpreet stated.
The 20-year-old, who has let in just one goal in seven I-League matches, will be hoping to feature in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers, and believes that India have it in them to win the group, which also includes Chinese Taipei and Guam.
“Barring the ugly scenes after the full time of that match, our stay at Myanmar was quite comfortable and I expect the same this time as well. It certainly won’t be easy but our aim will be to do our best and yes we have the potential (to win the group) even though Myanmar will have home advantage,” he said.
