New Delhi: A day before the India U-23 football team face their Singapore counterparts in the second international friendly in a span of three days, national coach Stephen Constantine, said Monday that there is ‘no room for complacency’.
“We will not be complacent. In fact, we can’t afford it,” he said in reference to India’s dominant display in the first friendly July 9 when Germanpreet Singh made the difference between the two sides.
The two games have been organised by the AIFF to help the U-23 team prepare for the forthcoming AFC U-23 Qualifiers in Doha where India have been clubbed with hosts Qatar, Syria and Turkmenistan in Group C. The Qualifiers start July 19.
“I will be looking to improve on our performance as much I am sure Singapore would be looking to improve on theirs,” Constantine pointed out.
The coach, however, wasn’t willing to agree to the tag of ‘dominant India’. “Yeah, we wasted a great deal of possession and scored from the only shot on target. But unless you convert possession into goals the question of dominance doesn’t arise,” added Constantine.
As the boys sweated out in the practice at the Choa Chu Kan Stadium, Constantine said: “We don’t have any injury concerns.”
When asked to comment on the standard of the opposition, Constantine initially refused to say much. “I am not someone to comment on my rival team but can say that Singapore have some skillful players in their squad who at times looked very good,” said Constantine, under whose management India have now won nine international matches on the trot (including eight with the senior team).
The Indian contingent will head to Doha July 15.
