Sharjah: Bahrain head coach Miroslav Soukup has called on his players to flex their muscles against India in their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Group A clash at the Sharjah Stadium.



Bahrain lie bottom of Group A, following their 1-1 draw with the United Arab Emirates in their opener and 1-0 defeat to Thailand on Matchday 2.

The Al-Ahmar will need to win their final game against Stephen Constantine’s side if they are to harbour any hope of progressing into the knockout phase and Soukup wants his players to shine against India.







“We must win the next game against India. We have conceded two goals after the match against Thailand. I hope everyone plays better than the way we did against Thailand,” said Soukup.

“India have it much easier than us. It’s OK if they lose 1-0 tomorrow, they already have three points but I really hope after tomorrow’s game we qualify into the next round.

“We must always trust our players. Our defenders and strikers are really good. We had a good preparation before this tournament and I want my players to show more courage on the field tomorrow, especially inside the penalty box."

Bahrain’s only goal in the competition came in the 1-1 draw against the UAE and Soukup has promised a better showing against India.

“The AFC Asian Cup is a short tournament and if you want to win games you must do more than the opponents. We had plenty of chances to score in the first game against the UAE and also against Thailand and I hope our finishing will improve.

“The game is won on the field and you're either a lion or a chicken. If you choose to be the chicken and you allow your opponents to become the lion.. they will eat you up. We must be lions on the field tomorrow.”

With the top three teams - UAE, India and Thailand still in contention to make it to the round of 16, India’s Constantine is not taking Bahrain lightly.

“It will be a difficult game tomorrow. Bahrain will be out to win for a chance to qualify and we expect a tough game. But we’ve played well in the last two games and the boys are motivated and they look forward it,” said Constantine.

“Bahrain are a good team, they are very well organised, they’ve got some quality players and they will need to win this match so they will try to attack us, but we will be prepared for that.”

India started their AFC Asian Cup campaign with an impressive 4-1 win over Thailand but a 2-0 defeat to UAE has seen them slip in the standings behind the Emiratis.

A win against Soukup’s men could see them top the table if the result between Thailand-UAE goes in their favour.

“The more you have to fight for, the more you have to lose. Against UAE, Bahrain were the better side and against Thailand, they were a little unlucky and I hope they are unlucky against us.

“We’ve done a tremendous job in the last four years. Especially the backroom staff. We have a team behind the team. I’m over the moon that we are on the verge of qualifying for the last 16 and that’s massive for Indian football.”


Source: the-afc.com