Intercontinental cup is a platform to prepare for Asia Cup: Manolo Márquez

HYDERABAD: India will take on Mauritius in the Intercontinental Cup opener at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The match will kick off at 19:30 IST and will be broadcast/streamed on Sports 18 3 and JioCinema.

“I am very excited. It’s special to play the first game here in Hyderabad. It feels like a new stadium now with the new facilities here,” said Manolo Márquez at the pre-match press conference on Monday. Defender Roshan Singh Naorem accompanied the coach at the press conference.

The Blue Tigers held their first training session on a rainy Sunday evening at the Hyderabad FC training ground. They will have one more session together on Monday before lacing up their boots for the Mauritius clash. However, for Márquez, there’s nothing to complain about. “We’ll have only two training sessions before the first game. But I feel that when there’s a new coach and new staff, the predisposition is good. It’s about the attitude of the players and I’m convinced that will be very good. These are the fixtures and we can’t control them. It’s not about excuses. We can’t waste time with them. We trained yesterday, we’ll train today, and we’ll be ready for tomorrow,” said the Spaniard. Márquez felt that he will be able to better judge the quality of his squad when the season is up and running. The Intercontinental Cup provides a great dress rehearsal for the bigger task awaiting India in the coming year, the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. For now, playing a good brand of football and preparing for the future has more importance than results.

“The main target of playing these games in September, October and November is to prepare for the more important thing - the Asian Cup qualifiers, the first game of which is in March. (Agencies)

Also Read: India Head Coach Manolo Marquez announces probables for Intercontinental Cup preparatory camp

Also Watch: