Indian football team to face Bhutan in warm-up match

Indian national coach Stephen Constantine said, “We are a bit disappointed that the tour to USA didn’t happen. In such a situation it was very important for us to get a game but we managed to get one at such a short notice,” reported the AIFF website.

“We have a squad of 23 Players who have not trained for the last two to three months. A lot of them are youngsters and it just gives us a chance to give these boys a bit more of International experience,” he added.

The coach also lamented the fact that football clubs have not released their players, but chose to look the positive saying that it would give chances to the untested players. “We have a lot of guys who have been knocking at the door to get in and with Bengaluru FC and East Bengal having not released their Players, it provided the opportunity for some other people to get some exposure.

“We have said all along that we are trying to build a bigger pool of Players. There is a fierce competition for places and I think this game is important in the development of young Players,” he said.

Speaking about the rivals, Constantine said, “The Players in Bhutan are presently playing in their League. They will have a lot of games under their belt,” to the AIFF website.