International Friendly Preview: Tajikistan vs India

Venue: 20 Years of Independence Stadium, Khujand, Tajikistan Kick-off: Wednesday, August 14 2013, 5:30 PM IST

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Tajikistan start a new era in this game under newly-appointed Mukhsin Mukhamadiev whose last job was being the director of sports at Rubin Kazan.

The former Russian and Tajikistan international has a difficult task at Tajikistan as he has to revive the fortunes of a national team that has been on the decline in the last 18 months and don’t have a major international competition to look forward to for almost two years.

Perhaps, he will try to bring in more players from that squad at the 2007 U-17 World Cup into the senior national team but even during this transition, Mukhamadiev has to produce results as well because his previous three predecessors weren’t given much time by the Tajikistan football federation.

A winning start would be the target for Mukhamadiev and he would be confident of achieving the same because of home advantage. The concern for Mukhamadiev will be the fact that this game comes at a time when the domestic league is having a break and with his entire squad comprising of Tajikistan-based players, it remains to be seen how match fit they are.

Mukhamadiev has retained many of the players that featured in the 3-2 win over Afghanistan in June so once again there is no place for the country’s record goal scorer Yusuf Rabiev, who was among the six home-based players who were dropped from the squad that failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.

Despite Rabiev’s absence, Mukhamadiev has plenty of options in attack but the key will be his midfield with Khurshed Mahmudov and Dilshod Vasiev providing the experience and the likes of Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev and Jakhongir Jalilov quickly realising their potential on the big international stage.

The fact that Tajikistan haven’t included any of their foreign-based players despite this being a friendly on a FIFA match date might be an indication of a lack of respect for India, who are placed 31 places below in the FIFA Rankings.

But anyone associated with Tajikistan football will be well aware of the 4-1 drubbing they suffered against India exactly five years ago in the AFC Challenge Cup final and thus will surely not underestimate the South Asian champions. Will they?

Winless Streak

Indian national team during training. Photo Credit: AIFF Media

Wim Koevermans’s wish of playing regular international friendlies hasn’t been granted for one reason or the other as this will only be the third international friendly since his appointment in July 2012.

India haven’t won an away international friendly for more than eight years and are unlikely to play another anytime soon because of AIFF’s financial problems and the fact that the national team doesn’t have a sponsor. But to be frank, it would be unfair to expect Koevermans’s side to win this match.

Indian players are still getting used to having just two to three training sessions together ahead of an international match and dearth of such friendlies hasn’t helped them adapt to the system that national teams worldwide are accustomed to.

If that wasn’t enough, Koevermans’s squad selection has been seriously affected by the ongoing issues in the domestic circuit. The deadlock between IMG-Reliance and the I-League clubs has resulted in the exclusion of two of the best players in Subrata Pal and Syed Rahim Nabi due to fitness concerns.

Meanwhile, United Sports Club’s inability to start pre-season due to financial problems has forced Koevermans to leave out four of their players. The Dutchman was impressed by many players of the Kolkata club which is coached by his compatriot, Eelco Schattorie, but Koevermans understandably couldn’t pick players who haven’t even started pre-season.

Despite the problems though, Koevermans will be glad that after five months, he finally has got a chance to spend some time with the players. Although Tajikistan is very much beatable, it’s worth nothing that the gulf in class between the I-League and international football is massive, and the fact that half of the players in India’s squad have less than 10 international caps, suggests that Koevermans can at best use this match for more exposure and experimentation ahead of next month’s SAFF Championship.

That, in fact, is actually the main motive behind having this international friendly and thus unlike the Tajikistan squad, the Indian players have something to play for as they will be looking to cement their place in the starting eleven with a strong performance. Following the failure to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, the coach and the players will be determined for a fighting display and hopefully will be able to avoid a defeat at least.

Form Guide

Tajikistan: LWWLW

Despite their inconsistency over the last 18 months, Tajikistan’s record against South Asian teams has been great with three wins in as many games. One of those two defeats in the last five games came against mighty Iran, but it’s the loss against Kyrgyzstan that would remind them not to be complacent.

India: LLWWL

India’s record under Wim Koevermans has been a mixed bag with four wins, one draw and three defeats in eight official matches. But three of those victories have come against lower-ranked teams like Maldives, Chinese Taipei and Guam and they have lost both of their previous two international friendlies.

Team News

Tajikistan

Wim Koevermans is unsure how Tajikistan will play as new coach Mukhamadiev will be making his debut in this game. But since the 46-year-old has retained most of the players from the Afghanistan friendly, the signs are that he will play just one upfront with the experienced Dilshod Vasiev just behind.

One out of Akhtam Khamroqulov, Kamil Saidov or Davronjon Tukhtasunov is likely to get the lone striker role, but Tajikistan will surely be targeting India’s left back as they don’t have a natural player for that position, so Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev will have a key role.

Possible Starting XI: (4-2-3-1) - Alisher Tuychiev; Akhtam Nazarov Sokhib Suvonkulov, Daler Tukhtasunov Eraj Rajabov; Jamshed Ismailov,Khurshed Mahmudov; Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, Dilshod Vasiev, Jakhongir Jalilov; Akhtam Khamroqulov.

India

Who will start at left back?Photo Credit: AIFF Media

The big decision for Koevermans will be selecting the left back. Denzil Franco or Raju Gaikwad are likely to fill in as the makeshift left back, and it will be interesting to see whether the experienced Gouramangi Singh gets the nod in the starting eleven despite not having too many pre-season training sessions so far.

Jewel Raja did a decent job in the ‘number 10′ role behind Sunil Chhetri in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers, but Koevermans could be tempted to have Lalrindika Ralte on the right flank and thus have the versatile Francis Fernandes in the playmaker role. With the SAFF Cup in mind, Koevermans will surely experiment throughout the game.

Possible Starting XI: (4-4-1-1) – Karanjit Singh; Denzil Franco, Gouramangi Singh, Arnab Mondal, Raju Gaikwad; Lalrindika Ralte, Mehtab Hossain, Lenny Rodrigues, Clifford Miranda; Francis Fernandes; Sunil Chhetri.

Key Men

Tajikistan: Dilshod Vasiev

The 25-year-old will have an extra responsibility in the absence of Yusuf Rabiev to both create and score the chances. Vasiev is expected to play just behind the main striker and would be aiming to match the display of Palestine’s Ashraf Nu’man who destroyed India when given a free role in the international friendly back in February.

India: Sunil Chhetri

The hattrick hero of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup final against Tajikistan has struggled to produce his best for the nation since his move to Sporting Lisbon ‘B’ last year. But Sunil, who has now joined Bengaluru FC, remains India’s best player and would be aiming to go into the SAFF Cup with a good performance under his belt.