India’s campaign at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will start in a David versus Goliath battle, against the 2015 champion, Australia, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha on Saturday.
The Blue Tigers have qualified for consecutive editions of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time and have been drawn with Syria, Uzbekistan and the Socceroos in Group B.
But its first and biggest challenge in the group stage would be to don the robes of a giant killer against an opponent it last beat 67 years ago, at the Summer Olympics, under legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim.
“Obviously, it is going to be very difficult. We know their achievements, with their top players coming from top European leagues who play competitive football week in and week out. It is not going to be easy but we are here to embrace the challenge,” Igor Stimac, India’s head coach, said about Australia on Friday.
India had three first-team regulars – Anwar Ali, Ashique Kuruniyan and Jeakson Singh – unavailable during squad selection due to injuries.
But another name got added to the list when midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad, who is still recuperating from an ankle sprain, was ruled out of the opening game.
Australia, on the other hand, comes into the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the title. Not so long ago its coach, Graham Arnold, guided Australia to the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup in the same country, a feat it had last achieved in 2006.
On Friday, the coach, brimming with confidence, said that it will look to use the familiarity of conditions to its advantage but will remain cautious of complacency.
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“We know what India can do. They’ve got some technically good players. But we are focused on ourselves well and we’ll try and get (good) results out of this match,” Arnold said.
The biggest miss for the Socceroos would be Mathew Leckie, the forward who scored the winning goal against Denmark to guide his team to the World Cup knockouts in 2022.
The Melbourne City player was ruled out of the tournament with a tear in his right hamstring last month.
But the injury opened the door for his club teammate Bruno Fornaroli, who returned to the national team after nearly two years, following his goal blitz in the Australian top division, scoring 12 goals in eight matches.
“The message to the players and the staff is that we’ve come here for a reason, and that is to win the Asian Cup,” Arnold added.
Australia would be relieved to have its veteran goalkeeper Mathew Ryan back in time for the tournament. The former Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper had broken his cheekbone while training with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in December, putting his chances of selection in jeopardy.
However, on the eve of the match, Arnold confirmed that the full side was fit and available for selection.
In the other Group B match, Uzbekistan will lock horns with Syria.
Though the latter enjoys a better head-to-head record, with three wins and two draws in six games so far, the Uzbeks have, in the last decade created an assembly line of talent, giving it an upper hand in the contest this time around.
In the last two years, Uzbekistan’s under-23 side finished as the bronze-medal winner at the Asian Games, runner-up at the U23 AFC Asian Cup, the under-20 side won the under-20 AFC Asian Cup and reached the semifinals of the under-17 World Cup.
That, along with the experience of head coach Srecko Katanec, who steered Slovenia to the European championship and the World Cup for the first time, makes it not just a favourite against Syria but also one of the dark horses in the tournament.
The kick-off for India’s game is scheduled at 5 pm IST while Uzbekistan and Syria will face off at 11 pm IST.
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