Dhaka, Nov 10 (PTI) A draw is all it would take to make the semifinals, but defending champions India will eye a comprehensive win when they take on Maldives in their second and final group match of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championships here on Wednesday.
India beat Pakistan 3-2 in their opening Group B match on November 5 with Suhail Bhatt scoring a first-half brace. A draw on Wednesday would be enough to not just make the last four but also top the group.
India is competing with a second string squad as the first team is playing two away international friendly matches against New Zealand later this week. The team in Dhaka is being guided by Under-23 coach Naushad Moosa.
Even a 0-1 loss to Maldives can take India to the semifinals as they currently have a goal difference of +1 as against -3 of Maldives. However, a heavy defeat is what the nine-time champions would be keen to avoid to stay in the tournament.
Pakistan on Sunday beat Maldives 3-0 to more or less seal a semifinal spot by finishing their group campaign with three points and a goal difference of plus two from two matches.
According to tournament rules, if two or more teams finish with the same tally of points, head-to-head records will be considered first, followed by goal difference in matches between the teams concerned.
After that the higher number of goals scored in those matches will determine the standings.
Despite the opening win over Pakistan, Moosa wants improvement in various areas.
“We want to improve our coordination, especially in transitions, defensive organisation and decision-making in key moments. Most importantly, we want to build further chemistry and competition within the group,” he said.
India led 3-0 till the 90th minute against Pakistan before letting in two goals in the stoppage time.
Talking about that late lapse, Moosa said, “The last few minutes were not what we expected. Conceding two goals in added time is something we need to look at and learn from.
“At this level, concentration, game management and maintaining our discipline are extremely important until the final whistle.” PTI PDS PM PDS PM
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