We are a weak team in set-pieces so we’ll prepare accordingly, concedes Ichiro Otsuka

The Mongolia football team head coach assessed his side's performance against Hero Intercontinental Cup hosts India.

The Hero Intercontinental Cup returned to action after a gap of four years at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. The tournament opener saw hosts India clinch a 2-0 victory against Mongolia after a well-put-together performance.

Kerala Blasters' boy wonder Sahal Abdul Samad scored his third goal for the Blue Tigers to open the scoring, before Lallianzuala Chhangte doubled the home side’s advantage in the 15th minute.

After the game, Mongolia’s head coach Ichiro Otsuka addressed the media at the post-match press conference. Here’s what he had to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7vmo4ectt8

What went wrong?

The head coach shared his disappointment on conceding a couple of early goals, including one from a set-piece. He also praised India for their display and said that it was a positive result for his side.

“I am very disappointed because we conceded a goal in the first five minutes and then from a corner. I told the players to focus and be prepared for set-pieces. But, overall the game was good enough given our condition. India’s preparation were so good. So, 2-0 is a good result for us,” he asserted.

Road ahead

Mongolia have two more games to prove their mettle. When asked about how he’s eyeing the remainder of the tournament, the Japanese tactician said, “Experience is good for us and our next two games are also against highly ranked teams. We have two days and we will discuss how to play against Lebanon. The condition is not so good so the coaching staff will discuss,”

Learnings from the game

Although Mongolia ended up on the losing side, they still put up a brave display against a formidable Indian side. The head coach spoke about the learnings from the game and said, “We defended very well in the second half. In the last year I have only coached them defending and today I tried for attacking and high press. We have two days for training ahead of the next game. 

“I’ll give some information to the players about how to defend and do high press and also about set-pieces. We are a weak team in set-pieces so we’ll prepare accordingly. 

Otsuka also went on to thank his former player Arata Izumi for his advice regarding the Indian team.

“I just want to thank Arata Izumi. He’s my players and he advised me and this was a good result,” he signed off