By IANS,
Male : India’s football captain Bhaichung Bhutia feels his team will have to play consistently well if they have to retain their South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup title.
Beating Nepal and Pakistan in back-to-back games, India entered the semi-finals and will play hosts Maldives in their last group match here Sunday at the National Stadium.
There is little to choose between the two sides, even the FIFA rankings show that India are 153 and Maldives are six rungs behind at 159, but Bhaichung was confident that his team would come trumps.
“Maldives are a good side and it will be a tough match. But we have been playing well and we are not complacent just because we have won two games without much difficulty,” Bhaichung told IANS.
The only worry for the skipper will be that left-back N.S. Manju will be missing as he was injured in the first match against Nepal.
“Manju’s absence will be felt,” the captain said.