Kolkata, May 20 The Indian senior men's team kicked off their preparations for the June FIFA International Window with a first training session in Kolkata on Monday.
India will face Thailand in a friendly in Pathum Thani on June 4 before the all-important AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifier against Hong Kong in Kowloon City on June 10.
Head coach Manolo Marquez believes his side improved in every FIFA window under his tenure barring the previous one.
"We need to improve a lot because I felt that the team was going forward in every FIFA window except the last," Márquez told the-aiff.com.
While the March window did bring a 3-0 friendly win against Maldives, the Spaniard's first win as the Indian coach, a lacklustre 0-0 draw versus Bangladesh wasn't the ideal start to the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign.
"It's true that for the game against Bangladesh, we lost very important starting players. But it's not an excuse for our poor performance in that game. We need to be aware that we have a difficult game in Hong Kong. We have time to prepare, to be competitive and try to win and get the three points."
Out of the 28 probables called up by head coach Manolo Márquez, 26 trained on the first day. Defender Rahul Bheke, who became a father recently, will join on May 23. Midfielder Ashique Kuruniyan is suffering from illness and will begin training with the Blue Tigers on May 21. India will travel to Thailand on May 28.
Singapore and Hong Kong also played out a 0-0 draw in Group C, so there's nothing to separate the four sides after the opening matchday. On June 10, Hong Kong will host India, and Singapore will travel to Dhaka to face Bangladesh. Only the group winners will qualify for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.
"I had a conversation with Javi Cabrera, the Bangladesh coach, before the game, and he told me that in this group, you can't tell who will finish first and who will end up last. Every team can beat the other. After the results on the first day, I told him he was right. Now, four teams are on one point each. Everything is the same. It's like starting again with five games left, not six," said Márquez.
India, a Pot 1 side, being the highest-ranked team in the group, are theoretically looking ahead to the toughest match of the campaign – an away tie against Hong Kong, the Pot 2 side in the group. But Márquez believes that the group is too close to call and might be decided by fine margins.
"I feel that all the games are very difficult. I watched Singapore versus Hong Kong. Singapore played much better in the first half, and Hong Kong were better in the second. It was a very equal game like India-Bangladesh."
But first and foremost is the friendly game against Thailand, who are also a Pot 1 side, and using this match to prepare for their qualifier against Turkmenistan in Group D. Ranked 99th in the world, 28 places above India, Thailand would be a good test for the Blue Tigers, according to Márquez, despite the Changsuek having won only 1-0 against 200-ranked Sri Lanka in March.
"I see Thailand as a good preparation for the Hong Kong game because they are a Pot 1 team. I watched their game against Sri Lanka, and they won only 1-0. I feel Sri Lanka didn't deserve to lose that game."
There are a few fresh faces in the Indian camp who have earned their first national team call-up after an impressive performances for their clubs in the Indian Super League and the recently-concluded Kalinga Super Cup. Mohun Bagan SG forward Suhail Ahmad Bhat, FC Goa goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari and Punjab FC midfielder Nikhil Prabhu will hope to make a mark in the camp and make their India debuts.
"Suhail is a player with very good movements in attack. We saw in the Super Cup that he's a player who can finish off actions well because his movements in the box are very good," said Márquez.
"I know Hrithik perfectly. In my opinion, he will be a top goalkeeper in India. Nikhil Prabhu is a player who is growing a lot. He was a centre-back but played great as a defensive midfielder as well. He's a complete player who is very good with the ball. He has improved a lot in aerial duels and is another player with a good future," the coach added.
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