India to play 'historic' football match against China

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Indian national football team will play a historic international match on the Chinese soil for the first time on Saturday, the coach Stephen Constantine remarked that the much-anticipated game is more than a friendly tie for him and his side.

"A friendly game for the world but not India"

Just before his side embarked on their China sojourn for the October 13 game in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Constantine mentioned, "When you are playing for India, you have to take it seriously irrespective of whatever game you play. You are representing 1.4 billion people out there and I can't tell you how important the game is for us."

"Friendly or no-friendly, it's the India national team. It's only a friendly game for the world but not us. We will go all out. These boys have to earn their position in the team for the Asian Cup and they have to prove their worth on the pitch."

Meanwhile, India's defence mainstay Sandesh Jhingan said, "The first and foremost thing is to improve as a team and as an individual. Results of a match always matter but we must focus on our performance primarily."

"We need to give our 100 percent on the pitch and focus to execute the plan. If we play as a team, results will follow," Jhingran added.

Indian coach Stephen Constantine addresses media before his side's departure for China friendly. /Photo Courtesy: All India Football Federation (AIFF)

Meet with Marcello Lippi

Quite interestingly, India has never won a single match against China in all these years and will face a formidable Chinese side, coached by Italy's former World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi.

"We are eagerly looking forward to it (the game against China). They are a respectable side. They have got huge success as a national team. Money is flowing in the league. Their ranking rightly reflects their good work towards improving the level of football," remarked Jhingan.

The Indian coach is well-aware of the strength of the Chinese side and he rated the Red Dragons quite high as the opponents.

"China is a very good side. They like to play an attacking brand of football with high-pressing. It's going to be a very difficult game but these are the games that we need to play. We have to play more games under pressure."

Forward Balwant drops out

India's Balwant Singh (Top R) and Carlos Leonel Fernandes (C) head the ball during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying match between India and Macao at the Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore, October 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

Constantine will miss the service of his ace forward Balwant Singh due to some visa issues.

"Balwant had to drop out because of his passport which will expire in less than 6 months. He has done pretty well recently. Unfortunately, we won't have him in China and we have to deal with it," Constantine informed.

Meanwhile, Constantine added, "We are not going there to lose. Yes, it's going to be very difficult but our objective is always is to win when we step on the pitch. If we don't win, we'll take the positives from the game and move on."

Statistically, the two national teams are going to lock horns after a prolonged gap of 21 years. In the last meeting, which took place in the Nehru Cup in Kochi in 1997, China pipped India 2-1. Out of the 17 face-offs between these two sides so far, China have won on 12 occasions. The rest of the five matches ended in a stalemate.