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Indian women’s football team coach Thomas Dennerby believes the team needs to play all types of opponents to prepare better for the AFC Asian Cup, which is slated to be held from January 20 to February 6, 2022.
According to the coach, playing weaker teams will help the Indian women's football team execute their plans while facing tough opponents could enable them to understand and work on their shortcomings.
“We need to play some teams which are a little bit weaker to implement attacking ideas and (need) some games against equal teams. It is also important to find an opponent who is a little bit better, who will help us to speed up the pace of the game, the decision making, the passing and receiving and all that you need to do,” he said during a virtual media interaction on Saturday.
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The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has struggled to find opponents for the Indian women's football team due to the pandemic. The squad is currently involved in a preparatory camp in Jamshedpur.
Thomas Dennerby feels the Indian women’s football team needs to play at least 10 games against opponents with diverse playing styles to prepare better for the continental competition.
"It is very important for us to play 11-13 matches before the tournament (AFC Asian Cup) starts. We need to play different opponents with different playing styles," he said.
Thomas Dennerby added:
"It is tough for us to find opponents and countries that allow us to come. Still, in some countries, India is red marked. It's hard for the federation to find attractive opponents to play. But I know they are doing everything they can."
Thomas Dennerby’s target for the Indian women's football team at the AFC Asian Cup
Thomas Dennerby said the target at the AFC Asian Cup is to reach the quarterfinals. He believes that if the team can meet that target, it will be an enormous achievement.
"We will put in a huge effort to reach the knockout stage, that means going into the quarterfinals, and if we can do that, it will be a successful tournament for us. We have a good squad. We have different types of players. We have good defenders, strong one-on-one players etc," he said.
Speaking about the preparations, Thomas Dennerby said:
'We've been in camp for about three and a half weeks now. A normal week for us is 11 sessions. The girls are working very hard.”
The Swedish coach, however, made it clear that the Indian women's football team have a long-term plan and are slowly increasing the intensity of training to avoid unnecessary risk of injuries.
"It's only five and a half months for the AFC women's championship. We have a longtime plan also we can't do everything in the first week, we can't overload the work, we are trying to increase the load gradually," Thomas Dennerby said.
India's star player Bala Devi, though, is not part of the ongoing camp. Thomas Dennerby said it is a tough situation for the Indian women's football team star (due to an ACL injury) and she is unlikely to be ready for the AFC Cup.
"She has an ACL injury. She has not been here with us in the camp and needs surgery. ACL injuries take a couple of months. Tough situation for her to be ready in time for the Asian Cup," he said.
