Spirited India take on Puerto Rico

India, ranked 152nd in Fifa rankings, will be led by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. (Photo: Asian Age)

India have a good chance of upsetting higher-ranked Peurto Rico when the two sides clash for the first time in a football friendly on an untested but impressive turf at the Andheri Sports Complex here on Saturday. The team will be led by 24-year-old goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as India embark on a mission to crack the Asian Cup qualifiers beginning March next year.

India, who have been training hard here for two sessions each day since Monday, will be used to the humid conditions here while Puerto Rico arrived only on Friday and are devoid of the required amount of practice. In fact, there is every chance the team that boarded a connecting flight via New York might fail to overcome jet lag and tiredness after a long aerial journey.

Add to this, three Puerto Rican strikers Hector Ramos, Jorge Rivera and Joseph Marrero opted not to travel to India. Ramos and Marrero are the top two all-time goal scorers for the visitors so their absence might hurt the visitors. Puerto Rico also come into this game after 0-6 aggregate losses to neighbours Dominican Republic across the two legs last week.

This will give the 152nd-ranked India a sniff to bring out their ‘A’ game to the fore in presence of vociferous Mumbai crowd, and earn some points to improve their rankings. The city is hosting an international game after 61 years and organisers are expecting a packed house (above 10,000) to cheer up the homeboys.

However, the Blue Hurricanes, as Peurto Rico are called, cannot be taken lightly. They are currently 114th in Fifa rankings and have some good players competing in the USA and Finland. The visitors belong to the CONCACAF and have vastly improved as their narrow defeats to Spain in 2012 (1-2) and USA (1-3) in 2016 may suggest. The home team, on the other hand, look in good spirits. Skipper and goalkeeper Sandhu, who has recovered from an injury after the Europa League game, will look to impress and also push his young team. This means Subrata Paul will sit out.

Experienced Sunil Chhetri is likely to move around in the midfield with Jeje Lalpekhlua doing the bulk of running upfront. Giving support to Chhetri would be the likes of Jackichand Singh, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Pronoy Haldar from the wings and the centre. Sandesh Jhingan will remain key in the defence along with Arnab Mondal and Company.

Coach Stephen Constantine do not want his wards to take Puerto Rico lightly. “They are the highest movers in the last month, so whatever team they bring, will be a team that would test us,” Constantine said.

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