Mandalay (Myanmar): Five months ago the Maymol Rocky coached team secured qualification in the Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 in November 2018 in Myanmar for the very first time. Now they are on the verge of securing qualification from Round 2 with only the hosts standing in their way. It seems more than a coincidence that this time too, the girls are in Myanmar, ready to battle against the hosts in the decider tomorrow
“We know it is a must win match for us. That is it. This is the big moment that we have all been waiting for when we started our preparation in December last year for the Round 2 qualifiers, and we aim to make it count,” said coach Maymol Rocky, on the eve of the match. The permutations and combinations are clear. Only a win for India will take them through to the next round of qualifiers, with only one team progressing from the Group A of Round 2 AFC Olympic qualifiers.
Though level on points, 6 each, Myanmar have a goal difference of +8, as compared to India’s +4 in the two matches played so far, which means it’s do-or-die for India. “We have always taken one match at a time. We will do so against Myanmar too. We are aware of the quality they possess. We will have to be on the top of our game if we are to secure qualification. We know what is at stake. The next 90 minutes have the power to define women’s football back in India,” said Maymo.
“We knew this moment would come when the groups for the Round 2 Qualifiers were announced. We knew this would boil down to this, India against Myanmar. In all our 14 International matches we have prepared keeping this scenario somewhere at the back of our minds,” she added.
