Tribune News Service
Navi Mumbai, January 22
After their goalless draw against Iran in their first match, India need to put on their scoring boots when they face Chinese Taipei in a must-win group match of the women’s Asian Cup here tomorrow.
A World Cup playoffs spot within their grasp, India are seeking to meet their head coach Thomas Dennerby’s “realistic target” of making the quarterfinals, for which they will have to win tomorrow — as the hosts are scheduled to play Group A heavyweights China in their last group fixture.
A win for India, who are hosting the continental showpiece for the second time after 1979, will virtually send the country into the quarterfinals of the 12-nation tournament. Besides the two top teams, two third-placed sides across the three groups will also qualify.
India created many chances against Iran, especially in the second half, but failed to find the back of the net. They had 22 shots on goal, of which six were on the target. On Sunday, they would be desperate to score their first goal of the tournament.
But they are not going to have it easy. As far as past results are concerned, Chinese Taipei have a better head-to-head record, winning seven out of nine matches between the two nations. However, in their last meeting India had emerged 1-0 winners in an international friendly in October. Ahead of the match, Dennerby reiterated the need to take the chances that come their way. “These things come from everyday training, and we are working on it. If you have a chance, you need to take it quickly, maybe in the first touch itself, if possible,” he said. — TNS, Agencies
“We need to convert our chances. We were a little slow in the last match and that gave the rival defenders time to recover, and come at us. These are the little things we need to be better at,” he added. — , Agencies
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