India will be looking to extend its successful run at home when it meets the statistically strongest opponent Lebanon in the final league round of the Intercontinental Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.
India sealed a berth in the final when it beat Vanuatu by a solitary goal in the second round to secure its second successive win of the tournament. Despite becoming irrelevant in terms of qualifying for the final, the match against Lebanon becomes important for India as it will be counted as an official tie and fetch important ranking points if it is able to get the better of the higher-ranked opponent. Lebanon is currently ranked 99 compared to India’s 101 in the FIFA rankings.
India head coach Igor Stimac set the priorities for his team, which struggled to beat 164-ranked Vanuatu in its previous outing. His decision to rotate his players fielding nine names from the bench did not fetch him many rewards as the side struggled to find the rhythm and stuttered in its approach in the striking zone.
“We are playing at home and are coming out in every game looking for a win. I can say it is going to be an interesting, if not beautiful, game when we meet Lebanon,” Stimac cautioned against the technically toughest challenge his team will be facing. “We have tried all the 22 players except the third goalkeeper. So in the current situation we will have the screening process and see who are the fittest players to take the field and win against Lebanon,” he added. This will be its eighth straight win at home if India can beat Lebanon.
“Three of their foreign-based players are joining the side ahead of the match against us. So it will be a different Lebanon that we will be facing,” Stimac cautioned. “Hence we planned to rest the best players, give them recovery time and get them to perform well against better sides,” Stimac said about his decision to rotate his side in the previous match.
Lebanon finds itself in a tricky position after its goalless draw against Mongolia in the previous match. Lebanon now needs a point (which will take its tally to five) against India to reach the final. But if Mongolia beats Vanuatu in the earlier match of the day, a defeat for Lebanon will see it tied with the Mongols on points and the decision on who will be the next team to reach the final will rest on goal difference.
“India is the best challenge for us in this tournament, and we really need to improve our level for that game. We are still not qualified for the final since things still depend on the Mongolia-Vanuatu match and our game with India. It’s been tough playing every three days in such weather, but we knew of the conditions before arriving here and will give our best,” said Lebanon head coach Aleksandar Ilic.
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