Have to give full credit to India, says Australia coach Graham Arnold after AFC Asian Cup 2023 clash

Australia head coach Graham Arnold admitted that his team weren’t able to execute their set-pieces properly against India.

The Australian team emerged victorious in their inaugural match of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, defeating India 2-0 at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Doha. The goals came from Jackson Irvine in the 50th minute and Jordan Bos in the 73rd minute, repectively.

In the post-match press conference, Australia’s head coach Graham Arnold, while evaluating their victory, also emphasized the strong performance exhibited by India in the game.

Credit to India

In the very first statement, coach Graham Arnold expressed his appreciation for India’s performance in the match. He said, “I have to give full credit to India. They put their bodies on the line throughout the game. We had so many opportunities to score but they blocked most of them. They are a very well-coached team.”

Improvement in the game

Although Australia won the game, they will seek to enhance their performance in future matches. “Yes, we need some improvement in the coming games. Mostly in the set-piece movements. We worked a lot on it, but were not able to execute it properly in the match,” the tactician mentioned.

Performance of the team

Undoubtedly, Australia exerted dominance throughout the game, yet India demonstrated unwavering determination at every turn. The Indian team continually pushed themselves to the limit while defending.

“The boys know that they need to improve. When you play for different clubs, the style of play is different. So, it’s never easy to keep them intact from the very first game. Defensively it is easier to keep them together,” Graham Arnold said while assessing the performance of his team.

“It was a perfect preparation game for us. Although it was a bit difficult. But we can improve on everything in the coming games. And it’s one game at a time. Lastly, we are here to win the AFC Asian Cup trophy,” he concluded.

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