DOHA - India are faced with a herculean task
as they go into their final Group D football league match against strong
contenders Iran at the Asian Games without their captain and talisman
Bhaichung Bhutia who has to sit out after collecting two yellow cards in the
tournament.
India will badly miss the services of the Mohun Bagan striker on Wednesday
in a match in which they cannot afford any slip-up to have any hope of
advancing to the quarter-finals.
A match-up with strong Iran for a guaranteed place in the last eight was
always going to be a daunting task but the absence of the mercurial Bhutia
has made it even more difficult for his teammates.
The Indians drew their first match against Hong Kong 1-1 and then relied on
a last-minute goal from Subhas Chakraborty to pull off a thrilling 2-1 win
over the Maldives. They are now placed second on the points table with four
points while Iran was leading with six.
The top teams from each of the six groups will qualify for the
quarter-finals while the two best teams from the ones finishing second will
also secure a place in the last eight.
The Indians have so far given a reasonably good account of themselves and
even a draw against Iran tomorrow should keep them in the reckoning for a
quarter-final berth as a second placed team. However, coach Bob Houghton
will no doubt be a worried man due to the non-availability of Bhutia as the
forward line not only lacked the experience but also the skill to pierce the
strong Iranian defence.
Manjit Singh has not shown the desired consistency up front and it remains
to be seen who takes Bhutia's place as a striker for the crucial floodlit
encounter at the Al-Saad Sports Complex.
Houghton has the option of fielding one or more among Subhas Chakraborty,
Syed Rahim Nabi or Sunil Chhetri in the starting line-up.
The Indians, ranked 148th in the FIFA charts, know their limitations and
their first target would be to play out a draw against their formidable
opponents as achieving a victory appears to be a herculean task.
Climax Lawrence, who has been brilliant in the midfield in both the matches,
will again have a key role to play and much will depend on how well he can
feed the strikers.
Although the medios have been reasonably successful, the defence will have
to pull up their socks to be able to ward off the persistent assaults on
their citadel on Wednesday.
