NAM ĐỊNH, VIETNAM: The big goal for the Indian senior men’s team is to secure a historic third consecutive AFC Asian Cup qualification in 2027. The FIFA international windows in October (against Vietnam) and November (against Malaysia) under new head coach Manolo Márquez are being utilised as preparatory matches for the all-important qualifiers beginning in March 2025.
But results do matter in these games for the simple reason – FIFA ranking points, which would determine India’s pot allocation for December’s draw for the qualifiers. After a draw and a defeat in the Intercontinental Cup last month against Mauritius and Syria, respectively, the Blue Tigers have arrived in Nam Định desperate for victory in the friendly match against the hosts on October 12.
Success eluded India the last time they travelled to the southeast nation. That was in September 2022 for the Hưng Thịnh Friendly Tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, where India finished runners-up after a 1-1 draw against Singapore and a 0-3 loss to a Vietnam side coached by Park Hang-seo.
Ten players who have made the trip this year were part of that squad too, and four of them started in the loss to the hosts, including Chinglensana Singh Konsham, who remembered, “The last time we were here, we lost three-nil but I think we started the game really well, but after conceding, we became disorganised.”
Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu added, “It was a tough game. Vietnam at that moment were doing really well. We had a good start to the game but got punished for the mistakes we made and that’s what happens against good sides. From the game we learnt how far Vietnam have come as a team. A place where we want to be.”
Both sides have undergone plenty of changes since that meeting two years ago. At Vietnam’s helm, Hang-seo was first replaced by Frenchman Philippe Troussier before Korea’s Kim Sang-sik took charge in June this year. However, the Golden Star Warriors do have a strong core of their players still in their current squad. Two of the goalscorers from 2022 – Nguyễn Văn Toàn and Nguyễn Văn Quyết – have been selected by Sang-sik for the friendly.
“They have players with good technical skills who like to keep possession and play fast. Playing at home for them is always an advantage as the crowd chants the whole game,” said Gurpreet.
Chinglensana added, “Playing with home support, they will come out strong. They have good players who play in the Vietnamese league. But we’re prepared for them. We can expect the best from us. If we play our game and how we’ve been training for the past few days, it shouldn’t be a problem. If we play to our strength and as a team, we should be able to get a positive result.”
Such away days give a strong sense of the reality which will await the Blue Tigers in the Asian Cup Qualifiers next year, where they will face three teams in their group in a double round-robin format on a home-and-away basis – for a total of six matches in the span of 12 months.
“Friendlies like these are extremely important since they put us in uncomfortable situations and that’s where we get to push ourselves and try to overcome the difficulties. I am sure we are getting better day by day and becoming a team that our coach envisions us to be,” said Gurpreet.
