Pyongyang: Buoyed by their opening day victory against Hong Kong, Uzbekistan are looking to build on that momentum against India on Friday, as they bid to secure a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018.
Despite being drawn with heavyweights DPR Korea and Korea Republic in the Group B qualifiers, Uzbekistan coach Babakulov Sherali is convinced his side have a fighting chance of making history.
“We are not here to make the numbers; we are here because we deserve to be in Jordan," he declared.
"Yes, we were quite unlucky with the draw, but as I said before, I have faith in my players to do well. This is one of the best women’s team that Uzbekistan has produced for some time.”
Even though the Uzbeks dominated possession in their opening 2-1 victory against Hong Kong, the Central Asians were made to wait until virtually the last kick of the match to snatch the winner. Perhaps understandably, Sherali admits his side needs to be more clinical in the final third against the South Asians, who are ranked some 14 places below Uzbekistan in the FIFA World Rankings.
“We are going to take a risky approach against India. For the first 15 minutes, we will push forward, create chances and try to get an early lead. I respect all the teams here but I am confident of getting a win tomorrow [Friday] and we hope to score more goals.”
India, meanwhile, will be looking to brush aside their heavy back-to-back defeats with head coach Sajid Yousof Dar suggesting he will concentrate on the positives as the 42-year-old seeks to refocus his charges in search for their first points in Pyongyang.
“The last two games have indeed been hard, but they are also good for us, from a growth perspective. We have learnt a lot about ourselves. In a way, you could say that we were fortunate to have played DPR Korea and Korea Republic in our first two games. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can start to play football, and I know we can compete.
“Uzbekistan are a bit like the dark horses in the group. They possess the necessary skills to hurt us. Yes, it will be a hard job for us but we will try to play as equals, matching them blow to blow. Our girls have a real fighting spirit and you’re going to see that tomorrow.”
Photo: DPR Korea Football Association
Source: the-afc.com