It’s difficult to play worse than today – Manuel Marquez after goalless draw against Mauritius

Indian football’s newly appointed head coach Manuel Marquez was disappointed after he kicked off his coaching campaign with the Blue Tigers with a goalless draw against Mauritius in the Intercontinental Cup.

The Spaniard said his team is going to only grow from here as they didn’t play at their best level. There were many opportunities for the Indian team but they failed to capitalize despite playing at home.

Mauritius is ranked 55 places below India in the FIFA rankings but the hosts could not get the desired result. Marquez admitted they couldn’t get enough practice before the match and they will look to come up with an improved performance.

“We finished very tired. It’s clear that it’s pre-season, it’s clear that we didn’t train. It’s a good game in terms of that we didn’t concede and the effort of the players. It’s a good game because, from here, it is difficult to play worse that today. From here, we will grow.”

“We need to play more. If we want to arrive, we need to play closer between the players – close support. If you check the last game, the team finished very tired because the team played very long. Finally, when you play with a lot of distance [between players] it’s about physicality. And physically, we know that India, historically, has problems.”

“We need to keep going. I told in my first press conference that the clear target is to arrive in the best possible condition to the first game of the Asian Cup qualifiers. Obviously we need to improve in all areas and I am completely convinced we will do it.”

The Indian team took 10 shots on goal but only managed one shot on target.