 "Farukh Choudhary scored a goal for India on his return to the team after three years. Image: AIFF")
Indian football team head coach Manolo Marquez said striker Farukh Choudhary produced exactly what was expected from him in the 1-1 draw against Vietnam in a friendly match on Saturday. Back in the national team after three years, Farukh Choudhary scored the only goal as 126th-ranked India held 116th Vietnam to draw in their own backyard.
‘His contribution was important’
Manolo praised Farukh Choudhary’s efforts and explained the decision to sub him off in the 69th minute.
“I think he (Farukh Choudhary) had a good game. He did what we expected him to do. It wasn’t pre-planned to take him off at 70 minutes, but his contribution was important,” Manolo said.
India vs Vietnam: Farukh’s triumphant return, Gurpreet’s heroics and other takeaways from 1-1 draw
Farukh Choudhary’s goal was only India’s third goal in 10 matches in 2024 and only the second goal from open play. The other players to score for India in 2024 are Sunil Chhetri, who is now retired, and Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Farukh Choudhary, however, was not happy with his performance. The 27-year-old player from Chenaniyin FC said India could have won the match.
Farukh Choudhary wanted more
“I’m glad that I could make a difference for the team, but I feel that we could have scored another,” he said. “But everyone played well together as a team. Gurpreet and Anwar also had exceptional games in defence, which is why we got this score.”
The last time Farukh played for India was against Nepal, in October 2021. In India’s 1-0 victory in Male, he managed an assist.
Reflecting on the result, Marquez said that he was happy with the team’s performance and also shared how the half-time conversation helped the Blue Tigers grow into the game in the second half.
“In the first half, it was practically all Vietnam. Then we discussed at half-time how we have enough quality to play, and finally, we started executing our plans in the second,” said Marquez. “Sure, Vietnam could have scored in the last minutes when we were tired, but we could have scored too with our last chance. But overall, I am satisfied with this. It was a friendly game, after all.”