Bengaluru, Jan 1 In the first game of 2025, the Indian senior women's team will face Maldives in the second of two FIFA international friendlies at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence here on Thursday. After winning 14-0 in the first meeting on December 30, coach Joakim Alexandersson has made six changes to his squad of 23 for Thursday's match.
Five of them - Pyari Xaxa, Lynda Kom Serto, Grace Dangmei, Juli Kishan, and Sanju, all of whom started the first game, have been released from the team. Lynda and Pyari scored four and three goals, respectively, as well. They have been replaced by Monisha Singha (striker), Anusha Mandala (midfielder), Thingbaijam Sanjita Devi (defender), Khumukcham Bhumika Chanu (midfielder), and Tamanna (defender) from the U20 camp which began on December 10 at The Sports School in Bengaluru. Other than that, goalkeeper Nandini has been replaced by Ribansi Jamu.
"The reason for these changes is that we thought we were a bit too big for these opponents so we sent a few experienced players back we're going to replace them with some younger players who are now in the senior squad for the first time, so it will be a good experience for them.
"I think these six have performed pretty well in the U20 sessions. They deserve this chance to play for the national team in a game like this," said Alexandersson.
Eight players got their first senior India cap in the first game and more debuts will be in the offing on Thursday. For the U20s, this camp has been an opportunity to make the list for these friendly matches and Alexandersson is pleased to see the hunger in the girls in every training session.
"I see the hunger in them. I see the effort they put in every training session to try and get the chance to play for the country."
Alexandersson stressed that it's important to rectify mistakes, even if they have been minor or inconsequential to the match result. Such errors are typically easy to overlook after a massive victory but that's what the Blue Tigresses should keep their eye on.
"We have to improve when it comes to the defensive positioning and the transitions. There are both pluses and minuses from the last game. Also, as a former player, I know that it's easy to forget about the defence when you face a team that is much weaker.
"I also want to remind them how good we were in positioning ourselves when it comes to the build-ups, and also the fact that we can improve even if we face a weaker team. We want to implement the sort of things in our style of play that we're beginning to use in training," said Alexandersson.
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