AFC Asian Cup 2022: Coach Dennerby disappointed after India's goalless draw against Iran

India head coach Thomas Dennerby expressed his disappointment after his team was held to a goalless draw by Iran in the opening fixture of the AFC Asian Cup.

India head coach Thomas Dennerby was left disappointed after his team was held to a goalless draw by Iran in the opening fixture of the AFC Asian Cup.

India head coach Thomas Dennerby expressed his disappointment after his team was held to a goalless draw by Iran in the opening fixture of the AFC Asian Cup.

“Yeah, in that way, I am disappointed with the result. We had enough chances to score, but it is what it is. It is all down to technical skills. You are not given goals, you have to score them, otherwise you are not good enough,” Dennerby said on Thursday.

Playing at home, India started as a favourite against Iran, which qualified for the first time. But on the pitch, Iran played fearless football and the India coach admitted that he was a bit surprised initially.

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“We are defending well. (I was) a little bit surprised in the beginning (with Iran being dominant). Of course, you can’t know. Every game is a new game, but they started higher than expected. We also then started taking over the game after we saw them,” he said.

“We will try to get points from the game against Chinese Taipei. This game is over, we can’t change this (result),” Dennerby added.

While the Indian forwards created plenty of opportunities, they failed to convert them into goals, and the coach believes that they need to execute the plans well. 

Asked why Kamla Devi was left out of the team, Dennerby said: “She came into the squad a little bit late. We are trying to find out who is best for every game. This time we found out that we needed speed…”

India plays Chinese Taipei in its next fixture on Sunday.