India will look to beat the odds and hope for qualification into the knockouts when it faces Syria in its last group-stage game of the AFC Asian Cup 2023, at the Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday.
The Blue Tigers were left chasing shadows against Uzbekistan in their previous game, losing the match 0-3, which made their chances of progressing, almost impossible. —
They will now have to beat Syria and wait for results in other groups to seek qualification as one of the four best third-placed teams.
The good news for Igor Stimac’s side is the return of two first-team regulars into the squad, who were ruled out for the second game.
Lallianzuala Chhangte (groin problem) and Sahal Abdul Samad (ankle injury) were spotted training with the full squad and the coach confirmed that the full set of 26 will be available for the game.
“Before coming here, we were well aware of how unlucky we were with the injuries and how affected we were going to be here without four key players. But we did everything to learn as much as possible, to improve and grow our game, and to use this experience in our further plans,” Stimac told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
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India travelled to Qatar without defender Anwar Ali, winger Ashique Kuruniyan, midfielder Jeakson Singh while an injured Sahal, had to miss the first two games.
“We are still focused and well concentrated on what we could achieve and do here tomorrow. So, all the boys here will do everything possible. Is that going to be enough? We’re not sure, that’s in God’s hands. But hopefully, we are going to use one of our chances (to score),” Stimac added.
Syria, on the other hand, has been a defensively industrious side, securing its half with discipline like a typical Hector Cuper team. Under the Argentine, who guided Egypt to the FIFA World Cup in 2018, Syria has lost just one game with a goal-margin of more than a goal so far.
It held Uzbekistan to a draw, lost 0-1 to Australia, and sits third in the standings, above India. Its chances of qualification are higher than its next opponent, with Syria needing anything but a loss to finish third.
Cuper experimented with a few shapes before the tournament and has returned to his penchant for a 4-4-2 formation. With unchanged starting line-ups in both its games, fatigue might be a factor for Syria.
ALSO READ | AFC Asian Cup 2023: Syria team preview, squad, previous performance, key players
In the other Group B game, Uzbekistan will look for revenge when it meets Australia at the Asian Cup after four years.
The Uzbeks, who had finished as the quarterfinalists at the 2015 edition of the tournament, were knocked out by the Socceroos through a 4-2 win on penalties in the round of 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup.
With a new coach and a fresh batch of youngsters, Srejko Katanec will look to settle scores for the country against the 2015 Asian champion. The White Wolves need to just avoid a loss against Graham Arnold’s side to qualify for the knockouts.
Both games are scheduled for a 5 pm IST kick-off, with Australia facing Uzbekistan at the Al Janoub Stadium.
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