Gurpreet Singh Sandhu reflects on Indian football team's poor show in 2024

The Blue Tigers will be facing Malaysia on November 18th in Hyderabad.

It’s been a challenging 2024 for Indian men’s national football team and their goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who continue to search for their first win. While India’s winless run in 2024 paints a gloomy picture, the 32-year-old goalkeeper is looking forward to their upcoming encounter against Malaysia in Hyderabad.

The Blue Tigers will be facing a stern test against the Harimau Malaya, who have had a new lease of life under caretaker head coach Pau Mari Vicente. Vicente and his squad will be looking to shed away recent disappointments themselves with a win against India.

During a recent press conference, ahead of the Malaysia game, the Bengaluru FC goalkeeper reflected optimism, with a focus on overcoming this difficult phase.

Gurpreet and his team want to turn their fortunes around

While conceding the past performances haven’t been up to standards, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu shared the team’s collective mentality of turning things around. While talking about the high-level competition India has faced in recent months, the Blues goalkeeper views these matches as building blocks to improve performance and consistency.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stated, “I remember a phase where we were playing and we were winning most games and not losing a lot of games as well. And a phase like this also comes where you don’t win a game, you don’t score a goal as well. And that happens. It’s just how you handle it as a team and not get bogged down by what has happened.”

Consistency will be key for the Blue Tigers

The Indian No.1 also feels consistency will be essential for his team and it will lead to positive momentum within the camp. He revealed that the team needs to approach every game with the same energy and enthusiasm irrespective of the results of the past.

While talking about their last game against Vietnam, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu elucidated, “We need to make sure that using the last game as a reference, because that’s what we can look at.

“The Vietnam game was a good test for us. We need to make sure that we take the same understanding, same energy that we had, especially in the second half to this game that we have now and make sure that we get a good result at home.”

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu spoke about the importance of Asian Cup Qualifiers ahead of Malaysia clash 👀🗣#IndianFootball #gurpreetsinghsadhu pic.twitter.com/xh0CLbpbT8

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) November 13, 2024

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu considers Manvir Singh an important asset

While recognizing the form of Indian national teammate Manvir Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu showered praise on his fellow countrymen and described him as an important asset. Recognized for his physicality, stamina, and versatility, Sandhu notes Manvir’s role extends beyond the attack for India as well.

“I think he can be a natural goal scorer in my opinion. He can be useful for us on the flank or in the No. 9 position as well. So, I think he’s versatile like that for us as a national team,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu opined.

Despite their winless run, Sandhu’s words hint towards breeding optimism inside the Indian camp. India’s players, backed by Sandhu’s leadership, will be looking forward to the tricky Malaysian challenge at the Gachibowli Stadium.

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