After the massive victory against Thailand, India prepares to take on hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their second group-stage encounter on Thursday, January 10.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The match between India and UAE will kick off at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 8 pm local time, 12:00 am SGT and 4 pm GMT.
India vs UAE preview
Not even the most ardent follower of Indian football would have predicted the outcome – never mind the 4-1 scoreline – that India achieved against Thailand in the first game.
Sunil Chhetri struck twice while midfielder Anirudh Thapa added a third with an audacious chip before Jeje Lalpekhlua found the net in Indian colours after 10 months. Coach Stephen Constantine will be pleased at the ruthlessness with which his attackers converted the chances in their first match.
But UAE will be a much tougher test and the Indian defence will, once again, be overworked. The likes of Sandesh Jhingan and Anas Edathodika will need able support from the Indian midfielders who will likely spend a lot of the match in their own half.
The Indian defence and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu will take confidence from their recent displays against China and Oman. If the 'Blue Tigers' do manage to avoid defeat, they will put themselves firmly in conversation to qualify for the knockout stages.
It is to be noted that apart from the top two teams from the six groups, four best third-placed teams will also qualify to comprise the 16 teams for the first knockout round.
UAE, on their part, clinched a late equalizer from the penalty spot against Bahrain and will be keen to get their campaign firing against India. The hosts of the tournament are strong favourites going into the match and are ranked 79 in the world by FIFA, 18 places above their opponents.
Probable XIs
India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Subhasish Bose; Pronay Halder, Anirudh Thapa; Udanta Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Halicharan Narzary; Ashique Kuruniyan
UAE: Khalid Eisa, Khalifa Mubarak, Fares Juma, Alhasan Saleh, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Ali Salmeen, Amer Abdulrahman, Khalfan Mubarak, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil, Ali Mabkhout
Global TV Listings
- Arab League: beIN Sports
- Asia-Pacific: Fox International Channels
- Australia: Fox Sports, ABC
- Brazil: SporTV
- China: CCTV
- Europe: Eurosport
- Hong Kong: Now TV
- Indonesia: Sindo TV
- Iran: IRIB
- Japan: TV Asahi, NHK BS1
- Malaysia: TV3
- New Zealand: Sky Sport
- North America: ONE World Sports
- South Africa: SABC
- South Korea: KBS, SBS, MBC
- Thailand: Channel 7
- Philippines: ABS-CBN Sports+Action
- Uzbekistan: SPORT-UZ
