India deserved this victory: Pakistan asst. coach Torben Philip after loss against India in SAFF Championship 2023

Pakistan's opening game in the SAFF Championship ended in a humiliating defeat.

India defeated Pakistan by a 4-0 scoreline in the 2023 SAFF Championship group stage fixture, played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri scored a brilliant hat-trick and a late fourth goal was added by Udanta Singh to hand the Falcons a crushing loss.

Pakistan’s assistant coach, Torben Philip, was in agreement with the fact that India were the better side and spoke about improving for the upcoming matches in the post-match press conference. He answered the questions by the media and also gave his opinion on the issues that the team faced in regard to the late visa issuance in the build-up to the game and a lack of time to prepare.

Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

Analysis

While analysing the game Torben Philip spoke about India being a better side and him expecting a different performance than he got from the players. He said, “I would like to congratulate India for this deserved victory. We expected a different performance, and a different result. But in the end, India were better and had more chances.”

Treatment by the hosts

There was a lot of talk on social media about the unfair treatment the Pakistan team received in the build-up to the game. Responding to a query if Pakistan received fair treatment from the hosts, Philip said, “Why not? Everything is okay. We received the visas very late and had a lot of problems at Mumbai airport. It was tough, the last two players arrived at half past one in the hotel today. But, we have to go with the situation. We cannot change it. The guys did fantastic despite all the problems we had. I suppose the federation did everything (in regards to rescheduling) but it is what it is.”

Hoping for an improvement

The tactician hopes for his team to improve in the upcoming matches of the 2023 SAFF Championship.

“For sure, we have to improve. India have a lot of quality for sure, they deserved this victory. We have a lot of days until the next match. I am sure the guys will show a different phase in the next match and a different performance,” he said, expecting a better display in the forthcoming fixtures.

The unpleasant run-up to the game

India vs Pakistan is a huge fixture no matter the sport. However, Pakistan’s football team did not get an ideal atmosphere or conditions to prepare for the game.

Speaking about the issues experienced by the team, Torben Philip said, “It is not easy when you travel through the night when the players cannot sleep and you are sitting on the plane for more than 10 hours. We arrived today at half past one; it is not good preparation for the match. We cannot expect a lot from the guys but in the situation, they did very well.”