Singapore: India take on Singapore in an international football friendly here at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Tuesday, with the match promising to be a closely-fought contest between two evenly matched teams. However, Singapore will enjoy the distinct advantage of playing in front of home support against the Wim Koevermans-coached Indian side that went through a rigorous training session on Monday.
If we take a look at the history books, the statistics indicate that their is not much to choose between the two sides, though India were a comprehensive 4-1 winner in the last encounter at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. In all, the two sides have played each other in 15 matches so far, with Singapore nudging slightly ahead with 7 victories as opposed to India's 6, while two matches ended as draws. Both the sides are neck-and-neck in terms of goals scored - 19 each.
Stopper Gourmamangi Singh admits that there will be pressure on the Indian boys in front of a vociferous crowd. "We know we will have to play in front of a hostile crowd," Singh said. Anthony Pereira, usually quite, was quick to remind that this is a confident Indian team and can turn the tables on Singapore if things go as planned. "We need to play well. We need to stick to our plans. We stay confident but this is a different match," he stressed.
There's a fair sprinkling of foreigners in the Singapore squad. There are two Chinese players, one Australian, one British, an African and two Serbians in the squad. "There are people from all nationalities staying in Singapore. They are locals who are citizens of Singapore," Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic informed.
Avramovic, while admitting that the Nehru Cup victory has given Indian football a major fillip, didn't hesitate in saying that they will try to mark India captain Sunil Chhetri as hard as possible. "India come into the match as a confident team after their performance in the Nehru Cup. Our primary plan will be to stop that man," he said.
The kick-off on Tuesday is scheduled for 1715 IST.####
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