Football friendly: Eyeing year’s first win, India face Malaysia

India head coach Marquez Manolo has not notched up a win in three matches, and he admitted his team needs “to improve in everything” during the international friendly against familiar opponents Malaysia here on Monday.

Under Manolo, who was appointed head coach in July, India have so far lost once while drawing twice. India drew against Mauritius and lost 0-3 to Syria in the Intercontinental Cup in September. The team drew 1-1 with Vietnam in its last match on October 12. If the Indian team does not get a positive result on Monday, it will end the year without a win in 11 matches. Monday’s match will also be India’s last before the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers in March next year.

“Obviously, we want to win after a long time. Football is about attack, defence, transitions and set-pieces. We need to improve in everything,” Manolo said on Sunday at the pre-match press conference.

“For example, people say you played a great second half in Vietnam. I say ‘yes’, but we still made some big mistakes that almost made us lose the game. We need to work on that. The team with less mistakes usually is the one who wins the game.”

“We will try to play a good game with fewer mistakes than Malaysia. We know the style of Malaysia, I know the coach perfectly (well). They play good football and it will be a tough game for both teams,” said Manolo.

The two sides have faced each other 32 times and there’s nothing to separate them in head-to-head results. The Blue Tigers and the Harimau Malaya have won 12 matches each, while eight have ended in draws.

There is also little difference in the current FIFA rankings, with India placed 125th and Malaysia 133rd.

“It’s a friendly game but it will be good to check the level against a Pot 2 team in the qualifiers. We have gone a long time without a win. We want to show the improvement that we’ve been making in every training session,” said Manolo.

The draw for the Asian Cup Qualifiers will be held on December 9. India will be placed in Pot 1, while Malaysia will be in Pot 2.

Manolo said central defender Sandesh Jhingan, who is returning to action after recovering from an injury, is the “most difficult Indian player to replace”. “You don’t have these kinds of players. He is very important in the team, in terms of the leadership, how he performs, the character he is,” he said.