India’s head coach Manolo Marquez is fully focused on the international friendly against Malaysia. The Blue Tigers are yet to register their first win under the Spaniard since he has taken over the coaching reins from former chief coach Igor Stimac.
India is currently ranked in 125th place in the FIFA rankings whereas Malaysia is in 133rd position. The match will be played on November 18 at GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad. The 26-man probable Indian squad gathered for training on November 11.
“I decided a long time ago to play only one game in the (November) window. Everyone knows that national teams don’t get enough time to train. I feel we’re still in the beginning stage. This is only going to be our fourth game. My feeling is that the improvement in the last game was big and we need to continue in this line,” Marquez told AIFF.com.
The Spaniard said they are in the building phase and as a coach he wants to identify the right players who can play in the way the management wants.
“We’re still working on finding the right group. Right now, there are around 14-16 players who will be in the mix, but we’re not sure yet. A lot can change with injuries and form, but as a coach, I need to identify the players who can play the style we want,” said Marquez.
The match against Malaysia will be India’s last game before the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. However, the current FC Goa head coach wants to focus on the game at hand.
“I am fully focused on the Malaysia match at the moment. In a way, it’s a dangerous game because the players are in the middle of the fight for the ISL and this is just one friendly game in November, and the next camp will be in four months. But I am very confident in this group and I feel we will have a good performance next Monday,” said the head coach.
In the last game, India managed a 1-1 draw against Vietnam after sharing spoils against Mauritius and losing to Syria.
“Everyone wants to win every game. But the feeling we got after the draw with Vietnam was completely different from what we got after drawing with Mauritius or losing to Syria. In some moments, we played superbly. The one key thing is that the players have to believe in our style of play. I want to win every game and even every training session,” he said.
Marquez will look to get the best out of his players.
