The Indian football team touched down in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Monday evening for their 2018 World Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan, scheduled for October 8, according to a press release.
The team will also play Oman in Muscat on October 13.
Coach Stephen Constantine said he is happy to be back with the squad. “We have a group of young players who will make the country proud in the future. This is what we are trying to build, a team for the future,” he was quoted as saying.
“The atmosphere in the camp is positive and we look to gain something form the next two games,” he added.
The Indian team will have a practice session on October 6 and 7 prior to the crucial match against Turkmenistan.
‘Spiderman’ Subrata Paul insisted that team needs to “make the most of the two practice sessions.”
“It’s a very crucial match for us against Turkmenistan and we need to acclimatise and gel together as fast as we can. Travelling to a different environment and time zones always has a toll. But as there’s very less time, we need to be extra cautious,” he said.
“The next two matches are immensely significant for the future of Indian football as we are yet to score a point,” he stated.
Captain Sunil Chhetri said the squad is upbeat. “We want to take forward our good performance against Iran but we intend to change the result as we expect to open our account. Thankfully, there are no injuries apart from Dhanpal (Ganesh), who we will certainly miss,” he said.
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