Nepal will be a very tough match for us, admits Mahesh Gawli

The assistant coach filled in for Igor Stimac, who received a red card just before half-time.

India took all three points in their 2023 SAFF Championship opener against Pakistan and sent a warning to all the teams that they mean business. The Blue Tigers thrashed Pakistan 4-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru with a dominant and strong display throughout the 90 minutes.

Sunil Chhetri opened the scoring for India in the 10th minute, when he forced the Pakistan goalkeeper into a mistake and fully capitalised on the opportunity. After that, Chhteri went on to score twice from the spot and became the fourth Indian to score a hat trick against Pakistan. Udanta Singh came off the bench to put the cherry on the cake with his marvellous strike. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaRf1hxaHMU

After the game India’s assistant head coach Mahesh Gawli addressed the media in the absence of head coach Igor Stimac, who was shown a red card.

Reason behind the good performance from the defenders

It was India’s record seventh clean sheet in a row. The Blue Tigers have become much better at the back than they were some years ago. When asked about the reason behind it, Mahesh Gawli said that the players have been playing together for a very long time now and it has helped them improve. “I think it is because of how we practise in training. We like to keep things simple and they are doing it. And they've been playing together for so long and it has helped them to improve,” he asserted.

Igor Stimac’s red card

As mentioned earlier, head coach Igor Stimac was shown a red card in the first half. Speaking on the same, Mahesh Gawli said that it was a red card but a very harsh one because the Pakistani players and officials were at fault too.

“I think it was a red card because you can’t do that. But it was too harsh because the Pakistani players came and pushed him, but the referee did not see it and gave them a red card. Even their officials deserved a card,” he said.

Thoughts on Nepal

After completing Pakistan’ challenge, India’s focus now shifts to the game against Nepal whom they will face in a few days time. Sharing his thoughts on the game against Nepal, the assistant coach said that Nepal are a good side and it will be a tough challenge for India. “We want to focus on Nepal now. They are a good side and they played a very good game against Kuwait as you all saw. It will be a very tough match for us,” he signed off.