India women's football team face Sweden's Hammarby IF in friendly

Stockholm: With three recent international wins under its belt, a confident Indian women’s football team will take on Swedish top tier league side Hammarby IF in a friendly match on Wednesday. This is the first of the two friendlies the Indian team will play in the Scandinavian country. The team played four matches against UAE (4-1), Tunisia (0-1), Bahrain (5-0) and Chinese Taipei (1-0) as part of preparations for next year’s women’s AFC Asian Cup. “It’s a big challenge for us in Sweden, but the girls are motivated to give their best in every game,” said goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan on the eve of the match. “It’s often about who wants more on the pitch, and our girls are certainly pumped up after the results that we have had recently,” she added. The Indian team under Swedish coach Thomas Dennerby scored 10 goals in the four international friendly games while conceding only one to register three wins and one loss. “These games have been very helpful for the team. They helped us reflect on the team and individual performances. These matches helped us look at our strengths and weaknesses,” another player Dalima Chhibber said. “As a team, we are focused on building up to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year, and competitive matches like these help us plan for the areas where we need to improve.” Chhibber said that the team is working hard to adapt to the philosophy that coach Dennerby is trying to inculcate in the team. “We are working with a new coaching philosophy both on and off the field. The preparations for the flagship tournament is going on in full swing,” she said. “We are all looking to prepare the best we can for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.”