Alexandersson makes six changes in squad for second Maldives FIFA friendly

Coach Joakim Alexandersson has made as many as six changes to the Indian women's football squad ahead of the second international friendly against Maldives here on Thursday. The quintet of Pyari Xaxa, Lynda Kom Serto, Grace Dangmei, Juli Kishan and Sanju, all of whom started the first game, have been released from the squad. Lynda and Pyari scored four and three goals, respectively.

They have been replaced by Monisha Singha (striker), Anusha Mandala (midfielder), Thingbaijam Sanjita Devi (defender), Khumukcham Bhumika Chanu (midfielder) and Tamanna (defender) from the U20 camp which began on December 10 at The Sports School in Bengaluru. Other than that, goalkeeper Nandini has been replaced by Ribansi Jamu.

"The reason for these changes is that we thought we were a bit too big for these opponents so we sent a few experienced players back we're going to replace them with some younger players who are now in the senior squad for the first time, so it will be a good experience for them," Alexandersson said.

Eight players got their first senior India cap in the first game and more debuts will be in the offing on Thursday. For the U20s, this camp has been an opportunity to make the list for these friendly matches. Alexandersson stressed that it's important to rectify mistakes, even if they have been minor or inconsequential to the match result.

"We have to improve when it comes to the defensive positioning and the transitions. There are both pluses and minuses from the last game. Also, as a former player, I know that it's easy to forget about the defence when you face a team that is much weaker.

"I also want to remind them how good we were in positioning ourselves when it comes to the build-ups, and also the fact that we can improve even if we face a weaker team.

"We want to implement the sort of things in our style of play that we're beginning to use in training," said Alexandersson. PTI