India vs Thailand: Manolo Marquez, Blue Tigers hope to use friendly as prep for Asian Cup Qualifier against Hong Kong
The Indian men's national team will take on Thailand in a FIFA International Friendly on Wednesday at the Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani.
For the Blue Tigers, ranked 127th, the match serves as preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifier against Hong Kong to be held on June 10 in Kowloon City.
'We are preparing for the game against Hong Kong, and Thailand are preparing for Turkmenistan. It's a good friendly game for both teams because we are in a similar situation (playing the Asian Cup Qualifiers),' India head coach Manolo Marquez said.
Lallianzuala Chhangte, accompanying Marquez in the press conference, said, 'We've been working really hard for these two matches. We take this friendly game seriously and want to win it as well. Everyone is focused and motivated. The coaching staff and everyone in the team are behind us, helping us in every way they can.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2019. India won both the previous clashes — a 4-1 rout at the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Abu Dhabi before a 1-0 victory in Buriram handed the Blue Tigers the bronze medal at the King's Cup later that year.
Marquez affirmed that the current context is completely different from six years ago. The Spaniard said, 'Those games were a long time ago. It wasn't last week or last month. I think both teams have changed players since then. I spoke with the players who played that game. It's practically impossible to compare the games. I expect a good game. We are here to win, and obviously, if you ask me if we can repeat the score, that would be great.'
Only seven players from India's 2019 Asian Cup squad have travelled to Thailand for the friendly (Sunil Chhetri, Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, Ashique Kuruniyan and Udanta Singh Kumam). Thailand, meanwhile, have only two such players (captain Chanathip Songkrasin and forward Supachai Chaided).
After the friendly, the Indian contingent will fly from Bangkok to Hong Kong on June 5. Thailand, ranked 99th and also competing in the Asian Cup Qualifiers, is using the friendly to gear up for its match against Turkmenistan.
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