Ahead of their FIFA International friendlies against Vietnam, India senior women team's head coach Maymol Rocky said it is imperative to play against higher-ranked opposition to further improve themselves.
"I think this is the first time that we will play against Vietnam. It's all about playing against higher-ranked teams so that we can further improve ourselves," the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) website quoted Rocky as saying.
India rank 57th while Vietnam hold the 34th rank. India will play two friendlies against Vietnam on November 3 and November 6.
Rocky is also setting her eyes on the 2022 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers next year.
"Right now, our efforts are to match them and be better than them. It's only when we play better teams that we can gauge our strengths and weaknesses," she said.
"Our main aim is to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. We need to have patience and keep improving at the same time," Rocky added.
Centre-back Ashalata Devi is also confident ahead of the friendlies against Vietnam.
"Obviously Vietnam are a much higher-ranked team than us. But this doesn't mean that we can't beat them. We have been working really hard and improving, so we will be up for the fight," Devi said.
India's squad:
Goalkeepers: Aditi Chauhan, Panthoi Chanu, M Linthoingambi Devi.
Defenders: Jabam Tudu, Ashalata Devi, Michel Castanha, Sweety Devi, Ranjana Chanu, W Linthoingambi Devi.
Midfielders: Roja Devi, Grace Lalrampari, Karthika Angamuthu, Msha, Ratanbala Devi, Ritu R, Sangita Basfore, Sanju, Sumithra Kamaraj.
Forwards: Anju Tamang, Dangmei Grace, Daya Devi, Bala Devi, Renu.
( With inputs from ANI )