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Mumbai City FC take on Punjab FC in their second match of the Kalinga Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
The Islanders, who won their previous game against Gokulam Kerala by a 2-1 scoreline, will be keen on picking up as many points as they can from this stage of the tournament. It is likely that Mumbai City to qualify for the semi-finals if they win this game.
The Shers, however, are not going to be easy nuts to crack for the Islanders. Mumbai's head coach Petr Kratky, speaking ahead of the game, elaborated precisely on that.
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“Punjab will be a little bit of a different opponent in comparison to Gokulam Kerala. However, we have a squad who can perform against any team. I believe in the players we have. Punjab is a very good team with experienced players on the park, and are well organised," said Kratky.
"We have to be respectful and ready for their quality, but we must also stick to the way we want to play. I am looking forward to the game, it will be an exciting game. We are not afraid of anyone, and we want to win this game,” added Kratky.
"I was very pleased with what I saw" - Petr Kratky on the youngsters in the squad
Mumbai City, like other teams in the country, do not have their full squad available owing to the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. Kratky and the team management, however, do not seem to be too bothered by that.
The Islanders rotated a lot of their youngsters against Gokulam Kerala, and more of the same will be expected against Punjab on Tuesday. Kratky seemed to be quite impressed by what he saw and is keen on giving them more opportunities.
“I was very pleased with what I saw especially with Franklin (Nazareth), Nathan (Rodrigues), and Sanjeev (Stalin) and the others, basically all of the young players who came in, and Ayush (Chhikara) also, who scored a goal," said Kratky.
"There is a lot of room to improve but we will try to help them and make sure the performances are still going up. But again, I was very pleased with what I saw, and hopefully they keep working hard, and keep asking more questions for the future selections,” the coach added.
