India face Syria, aim for successive Intercontinental Cup

Hosts India and Syria will go head-to-head in the winner-takes-it-all third and final game of the Intercontinental Cup trophy here on Monday. India, who began the competition with a goalless draw against Mauritius on Tuesday, are eyeing their second consecutive Intercontinental Cup triumph, and third overall. Syria beat Mauritius 2-0 on Friday, which means they hold a slight advantage heading into the final game as the Eagles of Qasioun require only a draw to claim the trophy.

Syria have a long history of playing tournaments in India, but the title has always evaded them. The West Asians lost back-to-back Nehru Cup finals to India in 2007 and 2009 before finishing fourth in 2012. In their last trip to India in the 2019 Intercontinental Cup, Syria ended in third place. But for the Blue Tigers to deny them a first silverware on Indian soil, they will need to end a winless streak stretching back to November last year.

"It will be a difficult game for both sides. It's a friendly game, but the team who wins the game wins the trophy. We expect to play a good game and win the tournament," said India head coach Manolo Márquez, who celebrated his 56th birthday on Saturday.

But the Spaniard also noted that the need of the hour for the national team is to play good football, and the results will follow. "If you ask me, I prefer to play a good game than to win the tournament. I don't want to win it 1-0, scoring with the hand. I want that, in this moment, the team understands our ideas and we play better because finally, it's not about winning or losing. "You need to arrive at a style of play and that's what we are focusing on.

Obviously when you win, the confidence grows and then it's easier. But finally now it's about that we believe that we can compete against all the teams. "When you have time to work, the possibilities for success are more," Márquez explained in the pre-match press conference. Defender Jay Gupta concurred with his coach's words. "Obviously, it's a game where we have to fight for the cup, but we're just focused on how we adapt to what the coach wants as soon as possible."

Having completed a week's training in Hyderabad, the 22-year-old shared that the mood in the dressing room is positive after the arrival of Márquez at the helm. "I think a lot of players have already been under coach Manolo for a longer time (in the clubs), so they would know how to adapt to him," said Gupta.