India are all geared up to face Belarus in their second friendly in Bahrain. The match against the West Asians helped the Blue Tigers to understand their weaknesses and strengths. Igor Stimac’s men will be looking forward to a satisfactory display against the Europeans. Speaking of their FIFA rankings, India are ranked 104th. Meanwhile, Belarus are at 94. Therefore, it is expected that the encounter will be tough like their previous outing. For India, this tour to Bahrain is one to prepare for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in June.
For Belarus, this is their first friendly in 2022. They’ll be playing two friendlies, against India and Bahrain, on 26th and 29th March respectively. Since September 2021, Belarus have played seven matches (including six World Cup Qualifiers and a friendly). However, their solitary win came in November against Jordan (1-0) in a friendly. Eventually, that was the country’s last game. Hence, their tactician Georgy Kondratyev will be looking forward to having a check on the team’s condition before some important clashes in June. This is the first time India will be playing against Belarus.
TEAM NEWS
Indian National Team – India have a 24-member squad for this game except Bipin Singh. The Blue Tigers possess a fully fit squad for this encounter. Igor Stimac was in high praise of Naorem Roshan Singh. He will be hoping for a start this time around and that too, in his natural position.
Belarus National Team – Belarus announced their squad for the two friendlies on 10th March. But, some changes have been made prior to their arrival in Bahrain on 22nd March. The likes of goalkeeper Pavel Pavlyuchenko (injured) and midfielders Artem Kontsevoy and Alexander Selyava were left out of the final squad. As a result of which, Roman Stepanov (goalkeeper) and Artem Bykov (midfielder) are in the team.
HEAD TO HEAD RECORDS
This is the first time India will be facing Belarus in the sport of football. Hence there is no past meetings between the two nations thus head to head records is not available.
FORM GUIDE (Last 10 Matches)
India National Team – Lost (2-1) vs Bahrain, Won (3-0) vs Nepal, Won (3-1) vs Maldives, Won (1-0) vs Nepal, Draw (0-0) vs Sri Lanka, Draw (1-1) vs Bangladesh, Won (2-1) vs Nepal, Draw (1-1) vs Nepal, Draw (1-1) vs Afganistan, Won (2-0) vs Bangladesh.
Belarus National Team – Won (1-0) vs Jordan, Lost (5-1) vs Wales, Lost (0-2) vs Czech Republic, Lost (2-0) vs Estonia, Lost (1-0) vs Belgium, Lost (2-3) vs Wales, Lost (1-0) vs Czech Republic, Lost (2-1) vs Azerbaijan, Lost (8-0) vs Belgium, Won (4-2) vs Estonia.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
IFTWC’s MATCH PREDICTION
Despite being perceived as football minnows India have a great chance of victory here. Belarus have had a horrible time of things lately. The team finished bottom of their World Cup Qualifying Group picking up just three points out of a possible 24. India will want to use the game against a strong opponent like Belarus to prepare for the crucial AFC Asian Cup Qualification matches and they will want to head to those matches full of confidence. India are in better form and we will side with the Indians to win this match.
Belarus come into this game after a long hiatus whereas India will hope to learn from their mistakes in what could have been a totally different game if not for individual mistakes against Bahrain. In a tough game to call it could be worth siding with both teams to find the back of the net here. Clean sheets for Belarus are rare with the home side having kept just one in their last twelve matches. For India, they have kept just one clean sheet in their last three. With both teams having the ability to be shaky at the back backing both teams to score looks a good shout. IFTWC predicts a 1-1 draw between India and Belarus.
MATCH AND TELECAST DETAILS
Match: Indian National Team vs Belarus National Team (International Friendly)
Date: March 26, 2022
Venue: Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, Bahrain
Timings: 9:30 PM IST.
Live Telecast and Streaming: No Live Telecast, but it might be live streamed in Bahrain Sports Channel (YouTube) or Indian Football Youtube Channel
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