Indian football team head coach Manolo Marquez praised striker Farukh Choudhary for his performance in the 1-1 draw against Vietnam in a friendly on Saturday. Returning to the national squad after three years, Choudhary scored India’s only goal. This was enough to help 126th-ranked India secure a hard-fought draw against the 116th-ranked hosts.
Choudhary’s goal marked only India’s third goal in ten matches this year and their second from open play. The other scorers for India in 2024 include Sunil Chhetri, who has since retired, and Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Marquez commended Choudhary’s performance: “He did what we expected him to do. Taking him off at 70 minutes wasn’t pre-planned, but his contribution was important.”
Despite scoring the equalizer, Choudhary wasn’t 100% satisfied with his performance. He expressed his belief that India could have won the match. “I’m glad that I could make a difference for the team, but we could have scored another,” the 27-year-old said.
“Everyone played well together as a team. Gurpreet and Anwar also had exceptional defense games, so we got this score.”
India struggled in the first half, with Vietnam dominating the play. Yet, a half-time discussion with Marquez helped the Blue Tigers improve their performance in the second half.
“In the first half, it was all Vietnam. Then we discussed at half-time how we have enough quality to play, and finally, we started executing our plans,” Marquez explained.
While Vietnam threatened to score in the final minutes, India’s defense held firm, with crucial contributions from goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and defender Anwar Ali. Marquez acknowledged the close finish but remained satisfied with the result.
“Vietnam could have scored in the last minutes when we were tired. Yet, we could have scored too with our last chance. But I am satisfied with this. It was a friendly game, after all.”
Farukh Choudhary’s return to the national team, after last playing in October 2021 against Nepal, was a boost for India. His performance will likely solidify his place in future selections.
