India's task cut out in ‘knockout' tie vs Thailand
"It will be massive not only for women's football but for everyone related to football in India. It will be like a ray of hope," the Indian women's head coach told TOI from Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Friday.
With the Indian men's team languishing on last spot in their respective group of the AFC qualifiers, the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Manolo Marquez's successor at the senior national team's helm, and the general dismay regarding the future of Indian football among its followers, qualifying for the AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers 2026 could be a small ray of hope for the country.
While the last meeting between the sides ended in a 0-1 defeat for the Indian women at 2023 Asian Games, the Group B clash is billed to be one between equals, given the recent form of the both sides who have amassed the same number of wins, goals, points and an identical goal difference of +22 after three games at the qualifying leg at 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium.
India have romped to the top of the group with an 11-0 demolition of Mongolia, a 4-0 cruise against Timor Leste and a dominant 5-0 win over Iraq.
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On the other hand, the world No. 46 Thailand, needing 12 goals over Mongolia to beat Chettri's team to the coveted ticket to Australia, scored identical 11 goals to make Saturday's fixture a knockout match.
With penalties to play decider if the winner isn't decided in the 90 minutes, India would like their firepower of Manisha Kalyan, Sangita Basfore, India's topscorer Pyari Xaxa and tournament revelation Priyadarshini Selladurai to wrap things up in regulation time.
Basfore and Anju Tamang are the two players who were part of India's 2023 Asian Games squad that tasted defeat against Thailand and will be eager to turn things around, especially for teammate Soumya Guguloth, whose injury in the Iraq game will keep her out of the decider.
Chettri, however, is impressed with the women's show so far, especially in the background of limited resources available in their journey, vis-a-vis the men's team.
"As a coach, I am already proud of these players irrespective of the result (on Saturday). The amount of hard work and challenges they have faced to reach here is incredible. For me, in sports, there are no failures. We just keep learning and growing as a team," he signed off.
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