Missed Opportunities: Farukh Choudhary Reflects on 1-1 Draw Against Vietnam

Making a triumphant return to the national team after three years, midfielder Farukh Choudhary expressed his satisfaction with his performance in the recent international friendly against Vietnam. Despite the 1-1 draw, Farukh believes that India could have clinched another goal to secure a victory. The decision by coach Manolo Marquez to include Farukh in the starting lineup was met with skepticism, but the midfielder proved his worth by scoring a crucial goal in the second half to equalize the score after Vi Hao Bui's opening goal for the hosts. Reflecting on his comeback, Farukh expressed his joy at being back on the national team and credited his dedication and hard work at his club for earning him a spot in the squad. "Personally, I feel great. I've not been a part of the national team for a long time, but this is where I wanted to be. I worked hard at my clubs and I knew in my heart that I deserved to be here," Farukh said confidently. His performance in the match against Vietnam has surely made a strong case for his continued presence in the national team lineup.

The last time Farukh turned out for India, he created an assist against Nepal, in October 2021, in a 1-0 victory in Male. But an unfortunate knee injury meant that he had to start from square one on his way back to the national team.

"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 (Singh Saandhu) and Anwar (Ali) also had exceptional games in defence, which is why we got this score." In what was a game of two halves, India heaved an almighty effort for most parts of the second half, and perhaps were a bit disappointed that they could not find the winning goal.

However, the head coach remains positive about his side's display as his search of a first win in charge of India continues.

"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.

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"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."

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)