AIFF Media Team 

NEW DELHI: After a narrow 2-1 defeat against hosts Myanmar, the Indian Senior National Women's team will face yet another test against their higher-ranked neighbours in the second of the two friendly matches in Yangon’s Thuwunna Stadium on Friday, July 12, 2024.

The match will kick off at 15.00 IST and will be streamed live on the Pyone Play YouTube Channel.

Head coach Chaoba Devi, who watched her wards suffer a defeat despite a spirited display, has her priorities clear ahead of Friday’s clash. “Minimising our mistakes in the next match, and taking collective responsibility is the key to winning tomorrow’s match at any cost.”

On Tuesday, Myanmar took an early lead in the 14th minute with a header from Win Theingi Tun off a corner kick. Pyari Xaxa equalised for India in the 58th minute. However, San Thaw Thaw scored the decisive goal for Myanmar in the 74th minute through yet another set-piece, a free-kick this time. Despite India's best efforts several chances created by Anju Tamang, Sangita Basfore, and Soumya Guguloth, India couldn’t break the Myanmar defence any further.

When asked about the opponents, the coach said, “Their strong point is their quality touches and penetrating passes. We need to block their penetrating runs and passes. They are technically a strong side. We had many good chances in the first half, but our lack of finishing cost us dear. We have to improve it in the next match.”

She further added: “We need to concentrate on our finishing. This is one area where we faced problems in the Turkish Women’s Cup and the tour of Uzbekistan, too.

“We did some serious work on this during the Kolkata camp, but I feel we need more time to improve this area,” she said. 

Pyari, who scored the lone goal for India, said, "We had a good game overall, but we committed some mistakes. But we are working very hard to rectify such mistakes for the next game. All the girls are focussed on getting the result in the second game. We need to play together and help each other. If we can do that, we can definitely win this match.

“The coaches have been extremely supportive of us. We all want to give our hundred percent for our country and hopefully, we’ll get a good result tomorrow," Pyari said.