AFC Asian Cup 2019, India v Bahrain - Expert Talk - Predictions, Views, Opinions from Top Stars

Mehrajuddin Wadoo

(Former India captain and midfielder. Currently the youth coach of FC Pune City)

Mehrajuddin Wadoo

India versus UAE was a great game to watch. We should all take pride in the way our team played against UAE. In my opinion, we were better. Everyone played their role as expected but the only thing which we couldn't do was convert those chances we created. If we had scored from the chances we created, we could have won the game.

On the other hand, UAE created fewer chances but converted and that was the difference. Against teams like UAE if you get chances and don’t score, then they will capitalise.

Bahrain will be again a tough one as they also need points to qualify. They will go all out to win against us. Our team should focus on getting a point out of the game at least. We need to stay focused for the entire game and make sure we don't concede.

Every team wants to win and I think if India score first, they need to stay mentally strong and not let the opponents to score back. Now is the time to show our real mettle and the senior players will have to take some extra responsibility on the field.

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Kean Lewis

(Bengaluru FC winger)

Kean Lewis

The loss against UAE happened because we missed a lot of chances. We were unlucky. Ashique was one-on-one with the keeper and that was a great save. Sunil Chhetri's header was unfortunately straight at the keeper.

If only it was a little to the left or right, it would have been a goal. Then, Udanta hit the post once. We had close chances but unfortunately we didn't see the back of the net.

I didn't think UAE played an exceptional game. They are ranked above India but not a huge difference in terms of quality. On any other day, if we had converted, it would have been our win.

I think both Bahrain and India don't have an option but to go for the win. We have the option of just getting a result too but Bahrain have to win. For us, playing those long balls to Udanta counts as one of our strengths because he's just so fast. Gurpreet too can hit those ball from the goal-line. It a tactic that seems to be working well for India.

I think in football, it really matters who scores first. India were confident and tactically sound when they scored first against Thailand. That helps in pushing further in the game because you get positive vibes.

When you are chasing, you might panic. You might try a lot and get frustrated when you don't get the goal. But it's a game of football and anything can happen. Even when Bengaluru FC are playing, we have scored late goals and that shows anything is possible. Even if you are a goal down, you have to stay positive and keep working till the end.

I can't say what Constantine will exactly apply against Bahrain though. He would have watched Bahrain's videos and based on that, he will fix and adjust his approach. Nonetheless we have to go all out and get the win.

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Bhaichung Bhutia

(Indian football legend and former captain of the national team)

Bhaichung Bhutia

I think the way the team approached the first two matches, they should keep it that way. They shouldn't change.

They had a good start against UAE. It was very unlucky that they couldn't take the lead. Overall, I think we did well in the first half and we should play like that.

You can't go into a match thinking you will get a draw. You need to defend 90 minutes and that's tough. It's not a good thing when India are on the back-foot after conceding a goal as well.

They need to get the first goal and keep it up.