India’s football captain Sunil Chhetri said they will work on things they could have done better against Australia after their 2-0 loss in their opening Group B match of the AFC Asian Cup on Saturday. India showed great resistance in the first half, which went goalless but could not keep Socceroos at bay in the next 45 minutes.
Australia dominated the possession with 71% and took a total of 28 shots on goal. On the other hand, the Blue Tigers could only make four attempts on goal. Chhetri said they can gain more confidence after analysing their performance by looking at the videos.
“There are pros and cons to this game. It’s not easy to play the best teams in Asia. We are not used to playing sides like these, as we don’t play against them very often, so you never know what to expect,” he said in an interview with the-aiff.com.
“It’s a mixed bag of feelings right now. Once we watch the videos, perhaps we will gain more confidence and work on the things that we could have done better,” he said.
Meanwhile, India will next face Uzbekistan in their second game of the tournament, which will be another tough challenge for them. Uzbekistan played a goalless draw against lower-ranked Syria.
“Uzbekistan are not Australia, but they’re a good side nonetheless. So it will be a big challenge in that game too,” Chhetri said.
The Blue Tigers will need to register a win in their next match in order to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the knockout stages. India will next take on Uzbekistan at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar on Thursday in their second match of the tournament.
