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. But I just wanted to say the atmosphere in the dressing room is really, really positive,” said Gupta.
Márquez shared that fitness-wise, there’s still work to do for the players since the season is only getting started, but overall, he and his coaching staff are happy with the boys’ attitude in the training ground.
“When you are in the pre-season, you are not in your best moment physically. In fact, some players finished the first game very tired. And this is normal. One good thing is that all 25 players are available for tomorrow.
“We are satisfied with how they are working. We are very happy with the attitude they have in every training session,” said Márquez.
Like India, Syria are also in their new era under new head coach José Lana.
The Spaniard was satisfied with their opening-game display against Mauritius as goals from Mustafa Abdullatif and Mahmoud Al-Mawas sealed a 2-0 win. He hopes to keep progressing and do even better against India.
“I think India are a great team. I like the way they play with this coach. They try to move the ball fast. I think it will be a difficult match for us. And our only objective for tomorrow is to be better than our previous match,” said Lana.
Sharing more thoughts on the Indian team, the Syrian coach said, “I think they have good organisation. They know how to play when they don’t have the ball. They try to press high. And when they have the ball, they try to play faster and move the ball from side to side.”
New England era off to winning start as Rice and Grealish come back to haunt Ireland
Dublin, Sep 8 (AP) After the pain of the European Championship, England kicked off a new era by beating Ireland 2-0 here.
Some 55 days since the defeat to Spain in the Euros final, England began the UEFA Nations League under a new regime following the departure of Gareth Southgate.
Interim coach Lee Carsley made an impressive start at Aviva Stadium after first half goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.
The identity of those scorers would have been especially painful for the Irish fans who jeered Rice and Grealish for their decision to switch to England after representing Ireland.
Carsley, who has stepped up from coaching England’s European champion under-21s, also represented Ireland as a player.
“We’ve shown that we’ve got real talent. We can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well,” he said.
Rice, who made three appearances for Ireland, fired England ahead in the 11th minute. Grealish represented Ireland at youth level up to the U21s and doubled the lead at the end of a slick passing move.
Grealish was a surprise omission from Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.
“There’s no better feeling than playing for England, especially in games like this,” the winger said.
“Honestly, it was probably one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t not see everything that’s happening in front of you.”
New Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson hoped to cause another upset against England after he was co-manager for Iceland’s victory over the Three Lions at Euro 2016. But even though England failed to build on its first half superiority after the break, it was a routine win for Carsley’s first game in charge.
England is behind leader Greece on goal difference in Group B2. Greece beat Finland 3-0 with two goals from Fotis Ioannidis.
After some positive performances at the Euros - following it group stage elimination from the 2022 World Cup - the Germans kept that feelgood feeling going by routing Hungary 5-0 in Duesseldorf.
Niclas Füllkrug struck in the first half before Germany went on a scoring spree after the break with goals from Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Kai Havertz.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann is aiming to lead Germany to the knockout stage of the Nations League for the first time.
This is a new-look Germany following the retirements of Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan after the Euros.
Germany tops Group A3 ahead of Netherlands on goal difference.
Joshua Zirkzee scored in his first start for Netherlands in a 5-2 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The striker didn’t have to wait long for his goal at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, opening the scoring in the 13th.
Ermedin Demirovic evened the score but Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo put the Netherlands 3-1 up and on course for victory.
Veteran striker Edin Dzeko pulled another back for Bosnia, but two late goals sealed the Dutch win. Wout Weghorst scored in the 88th and Xavi Simons added on in the second minute of injury time.
Netherlands trails Germany on goal difference in Group A3.
Georgia, which won admirers for its performances at the Euros, routed Czechia 4-1 in Group B1, with star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring first from the penalty spot.
Also in the group, Albania came from behind to beat Ukraine 2-1.
Armenia beat Latvia 4-1 in Group C4, while there was a penalty for each team as the Faroe Islands and North Macedonia drew 1-1.
