India and Singapore locked in a 1-1 draw in the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Saturday. The Blue Tigers entered the field for the first time since the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in June. Ashique Kuruniyan scored the goal for India in the 43rd minute. Earlier, Singapore gained the lead after striker Fandi put them on top in the 37th minute.
The second half saw little action as both teams tightened their defence. Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri and Co. also played it quietly. India played without their central midfielder, Santhosh Jhingan. India ranked 102 in FIFA ranking would be disappointed as Singapore is way behind them in the tally. They are 159th in rank, but the Blue Colts can take pride in their defense strength.
India captain says they will work harder
Speaking after the match, skipper Sunil Chhetri said there are areas of improvement for his team. “There are many things that we could have done better. I’m sure the coach will have a talk with us about it. We missed a lot of chances, and maybe we could have defended a little better, but without being too harsh on ourselves, there are a few things that we need to work on,” he said.
Glimpses 📸 from India 🇮🇳 vs Singapore 🇸🇬 match today! #INDSGP ⚔️ #BackTheBlue 💙 #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/fUqmrftQJA
— Indian Football (@IndianFootball) September 24, 2022
The Indian superstar also added he has no excuses to give about the unfamiliar conditions in Vietnam. “No excuses from my end about the weather. We were here two days ago, and I must say that the weather is a little different here, but it’s quite nice. The ground was great. A lot comes down to how we played and we need to do better.” India will next meet Vietnam in a Friendly on September 27.
India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK); Roshan Singh (Harmanjot Singh Khabra 68th), Anwar Ali, Narender, Akash Mishra; Anirudh Thapa, Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad (Yasir Mohammad 68th), Liston Colaco, Ashique Kuruniyan (Rahul KP, 68th); Sunil Chhetri (Ishan Pandita, 77th)
