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The Indian men's football team slugged it out to earn a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their first match of the SAFF Championship, which is being held in Male, Maldives.
Indian men's football team skipper Sunil Chhetri scored India's lone goal, while Yeasin Arafat scored for Bangladesh in the 74th minute.
The Indian men's football team head coach Igor Stimac said the team's failure to make the most of the chances that came their way was the reason behind the stalemate with Bangladesh. Stimac said:
“We had everything in control, we dominated the game, and had a one-nil advantage, and even had a one-man advantage. But despite all of that, for some unknown reason, we started giving away simple passes, making unnecessary mistakes. And if you boost the confidence of your opponent, that’s how it finishes when you give them a chance.”
Stimac said he expected more from the experienced Indian team and the result was hard to fathom.
“We were punished for not being reasonable in certain situations, and for not using our experience. This is an experienced Indian team. I expected much more because too many times there was unnecessary nervousness, and that’s hard to explain.”
Indian football team looking forward to next match
Putting the disappointing result behind them, the Indian men's football team had a recovery session on Tuesday. They will now head to an intense training session on Wednesday.
The Indian football team are scheduled to play Sri Lanka on Thursday in their second match of the SAFF Championship.
With the medical team tirelessly working with the players, Stimac said there were no concerns, with everyone being available for the match against Sri Lanka.
“We are now looking forward to the next match. We have another three matches in the group stage in which we need to play well. The boys played very good football for more than 75 minutes – progressive football, reasonably passing the ball around and getting into dangerous positions. But, 15 minutes is too much in an international match for not being organized, and making many mistakes.”
The kick-off of India’s match against Sri Lanka is at 4.30pm IST on October 7 and the match will be telecast live on Eurosport.
