A pumped-up national football team leave Indian shores tonight (November 11, 2019) for their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying matches against Afghanistan and Oman. (More Football News)
The 26-member squad will have their first overnight halt in Dubai and also have a training session the next day before flying to Dushanbe.
India are scheduled to clash swords with Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on November 14, before flying to Muscat where Oman will host the Blue Tigers five days later.
Coach Igor Stimac stated that the morning session in Dubai will “immensely benefit the squad.”
“We wanted to fasten the recovery process. The morning session in Dubai will also help us in a way or two before reaching Dushanbe. Everyone in AIFF is putting their best effort together to churn out the best result possible,” he mentioned prior to departure from New Delhi.
The National Team squad had two gym sessions, and two sessions on the artificial turf in the Capital to get the players into the groove for the forthcoming challenges.
Sunil Chhetri, the talismanic striker felt, “A good sleep, proper diet and recovery are very important to stay in the right shape before we face Afghanistan on 14th. The rest in Dubai will help all shrug off the fatigue.”
Meanwhile, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu added: “The stopover in Dubai will significantly facilitate the recovery process before we reach Dushanbe. I am looking forward to the morning session in Dubai. We have to go straight into a business to churn out positive results in the two matches.”
