Despite suffering a 1-4 reversal against Lebanon in the away leg, Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia is hopeful of a big victory on home turf to advance in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
India take on their West Asian opponents in Chennai on Sunday, and need at least a 3-0 margin to make it to the second round, but Bhutia believes the task was not beyond his team.
“It will be a very difficult game but we are confident that we can get three goals. If everything goes perfectly, it’s definitely possible.
“There is pressure on us to win by the 3-0 margin but we’ve got to play our natural game and see what happens. The preparation has been good,” Bhutia said.
India will also have to guard against letting in a goal in the upcoming match. “It will be more attacking football from us but at the same time, we don’t want to concede a goal because it will be impossible to get back into the match,” Bhutia pointed out. “We’ll bring in a few more attacking players but our strategy and formation will be the same. An early goal is going to help us in a big way.
“I think we’ve really got to work on dead-ball situations and aerial balls,” the skipper said.