India vs Kyrgyz Republic: We cannot be on the back foot against Kyrgyzstan, says Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is expecting a stiff challenge from the higher-ranked Kyrgyz Republic but wants his team to play on the front foot in the final game of the ongoing Tri-Nation International Football Tournament which will be played on 28 March at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal, Manipur. Kyrgyz Republic, 94th in the FIFA rankings, are highest ranked side in the friendly tournament which also includes India (106) and Myanmar (159). The White Falcons, however, were held to a 1-1 draw by a spirited Myanmar in the first game of the tournament. Mynamar who had been winless in the last 14 games took the lead 82nd minute through Aung Thu only for Zhyrgalbek Kairat to deny them with a heart-breaking equaliser in the extra time. Despite, the Kyrgyz Republic failing to stamp their authority on a lower-ranked side, Gurpreet feels India will have to be on top of their game to deal with the threat from the central Asian side and need to take their chances when it comes. India were profligate in front of the goal in their 1-0 win over Myanmar in the tournament opener. “As a team, we just need to be resilient and respect their qualities. They have good individual players but we cannot be on the backfoot all the time. We need to make sure that, they as a team also feel vulnerable because every team does, they will do and make sure that we strike when we get a chance,” Gurpreet said during a media interaction. The 31-year-old is expected to start against the Kyrgyz Republic having been on the bench in the first game. He was full of praise for Myanmar for how they challenged the White Falcons on the pitch but reminded that taking the Kyrgyz Republic lightly would be a mistake. “They are a very good team. I think the reason that result happened last night was because of Myanmar with the way they fought, and the way they were showing up physically. Every single duel they were there. Obviously, Kyrgyztan Republic missed a couple of chances but Myanmar played the long game,” the Bengaluru FC player said. “They waited it out, they made sure that the clean sheet was there until the end and they struck their blow and scored that cheeky goal. But again there’s no doubt about Kyrgyztan’s abilities. Their players are very good and on a good day, they can hurt teams." With the Indian Super League (ISL) final being played on 18 March, coach Igor Stimac was not able to use most of the players from Bengaluru FC and ATK Mohun Bagan including Gurpeet against Myanmar. Read:  Manipur sets the stage on fire for Indian football team’s first-ever match in the state The goalkeeper informed that all the players are available for selection now and hoped to finish the campaign on a positive note in what is the first international football tournament in sports-loving Manipur. “Everyone is fit and available. Everyone wants to play this game because it’s one of the tougher games and we want to finish this trip with good memories and hopefully, we have more games here (Manipur) again,” Gurpeet signed off. The tri-nation trophy will be given to the team that finishes on the top after the round-robin format. India are currently leading the table with three points from one game. Both Myanmar and Kyrgyz Republic have one point each. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.