AFC Women's Asian Cup: India coach Dennerby targets QFs

AFC Women’s Asian Cup: The AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 is just five days away and the Indian women’s team head coach Thomas Dennerby is feeling good about his team ahead of the quadrennial tournament. Follow all the AFC Women’s Asian Cup LIVE Updates only on InsideSport.IN

The tournament this year will be hosted in India, especially in the state Maharastra. Ahead of the tournament’s inaugural match India Women’s team head coach Thomas Dennerby addressed the media and shared his insights around the hosts and their preparation for the continental crown.

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Quarterfinals the primary target

Dennerby states how their main aim will be to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament. He points out how anything can happen in the knockouts as teams will be under pressure. The teams that reach the semifinals will get direct qualification for next year’s World Cup, something that Dennerby has in mind.

“We aim to get into the quarterfinals which is our primary target. If we qualify to the last-eight – anything, and everything can happen. The quarterfinals are a knockout stage, and all teams will be under pressure. Looking ahead, we feel it’s a realistic target that we can achieve. But let’s take it step by step,” Dennerby stated.

Experience of playing in Brazil

The Swedish tactician added how there are different teams with different playing styles and how his team have got a different outlook after their tour in Brazil. He shared that the India team’s experience in Brazil will help in this tournament.

“We have played different teams, different levels of teams, and different playing styles. We learned in Brazil wherein we played three games in a span of seven days with two days in between – a similar format to the group stage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022,” the coach opined.

Also Read: AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022: Schedule, Timing, Squads, prize money, live streaming- all you need to know

Ironing out the mistakes

Dennerby highlights how his team was pretty good in Brazil as they defended well for most parts but a few seconds of lapse in concentration has come back to haunt them. He wants to avoid such mistakes in the upcoming tournament.

“It allowed us to regain 100 percent of energy, and get back to prime fitness. We have defended well most of the times, but there have been few seconds wherein there has been a lapse in our concentration, and once such a wrong step will be enough for best teams to hurt us badly,” Dennerby explained.

AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022: Primary target is to reach the quarterfinals, says India's head coach Thomas Dennerby — AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022: Primary target is to reach the quarterfinals, says India’s head coach Thomas Dennerby

Adaptability

The Indian coach also analyses how India will play against three different teams with different playing styles. He feels that the players need to be very sharp and bring that physicality into play when they go up against Iran in their opening match.

“In the group stage, we play three different teams who have three different playing styles. The match against Iran will be an extremely tough opener for us. We need to be extremely sharp to thwart their counters, and to deal with their set-pieces,” he predicted.

“We have tried different players in different positions. When you go into such a big tournament, there can be injuries. So you need to keep all players prepared, and that everybody stays ready.”

Team over individuals

When questioned about individual players, Dennerby once again highlighted how the entire squad is important to him and the coaching staff. He adds how everyone is raring to go and are prepared to dive in on any situation.

“For us the support staff, all 23 players are of equal importance. I hope all players are raring to go and make a mark on the field. Of course, we can only bring 11 into the starting line-up. But it also happens what the game situation is all about, and how we need to react to it. Everyone has a role to play, and needs to be ready,” the coach added.

He expressed his grief in missing out on Sangita Basfore and Bala Devi due to injuries but also added how they are not thinking about the event from an individual point of view.

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