By IANS,,
Guwahati: A young Indian team under new coach Savio Medeira will be making a fresh start when they take on Malaysia in the first of the two international football friendlies at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here Sunday.
The Indian boys arrived here Friday evening, fresh from their I-League stint, and underwent their first training session here Saturday morning under Medeira, who has been elevated to the chief coach from an assistant.
Malaysia are ranked 151 in the FIFA Ranking and 27th in the Asia while India are ranked 160th in world.
Medeira was unfazed by the higher ranking of their rivals.
“We are confident and unperturbed by Malaysia’s ranking. We are a young and developing team with a lot of confidence. We have quality players in Jeje Lalpeklua, Sunil Chhetri, Jewel Raja and many more who can take on any team on any given day,” he said.
“We got to have belief in ourselves,” he added.
“Malaysia are a capable side. The exuberance of youth stands out. This match will surely be a very good challenge for us,” he maintained. “They have been playing very well in the recent past under coach K. Rajagopal. We need to careful.”
Indian striker Sunil Chhetri concurred with the Coach.
“Malaysia are a very nippy side. We had played against them in the Afro Asian games in Hyderabad where we drew with them. We can’t be complacent,” he said.