AFC ASIAN CUP: India have a plan in place for UAE: Kotal

by Vineet Varma January 10, 2019

Abu Dhabi, January 9, 2019: After the comprehensive win against Thailand in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup India defender Pritam Kotal says his team is well-prepared to play UAE on Thursday.

Kotal, who kept Thailand danger-man Chanathip Songskras at bay, said the team has ‘specific plans’.

“We have our plans for the UAE game. You will be able to see them while we implement it on the pitch. They are a very good side. We have a lot of respect for them. But we are ready to give it a real fight,” he said.

When queried as to whether UAE is India’s ‘toughest opponent’ in the group-stage Kotal said: “Every match is a difficult one.”

“You can’t really say which match is tough. Before the Thailand game, would anybody have said that it was going to be easy? Every match is tough. We expect UAE to be a tough game too. They are the hosts. We have to fight in every game and aim to take three points,” said the right-back.

Kotal believes India’s back-four has good co-ordination and chemistry as was evident in the game against Thailand.

“Our back-four has been playing together for some time now. That has built up our understanding, and the chemistry. We always talk to each other, tell each other where to position ourselves, whom to mark. This has obviously improved since we have been playing together for some time,” he signed off.

AIFF MEDIA

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