Thomas Dennerby, the head coach of the Indian women's football team, has stated that "we will fight with our lives." to advance to the knockout stages of the upcoming AFC Asian Cup and achieve their goal of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in 2023.
Dennerby would not provide a clear answer when asked if he is confident in guiding India to their first FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, but did say "anything can happen." if his side advances to the Asian Cup's knockout round (quarterfinals).
On the FIFA website, the veteran Swede stated, “let’s take it step by step. Of course, we have a dream, and that starts with us being one among the eight teams in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup. If we can reach that level, anything can happen. I can only promise everyone that we will go out with a winning mentality and put in a huge effort. And that we will fight with our lives.”
Five countries will qualify for the 2023 World Cup straight from the Asian Cup, which will be held in Mumbai and Pune from January 20 to February 4. For the FIFA World Cup, Asia received six direct slots and two intercontinental play-off positions. Co-hosts One direct spot has been grabbed by Australia.
Even the quarterfinal losers will compete in classification matches to determine who will compete for the two intercontinental play-off slots. The top two teams from each of the three groups, as well as the top two teams from the third group, advance to the quarterfinals.
Dennerby coached Sweden and led Nigeria to the World Cup after they won the African Championships. He now aspires to accomplish the feat with the Indian squad.
Dennerby, who took over as coach in August of last year at the age of 62, stated, “in Nigeria we won the AFCON Championship and qualified for the Women’s World Cup. I still nurture a dream, and at the moment it’s seeing India make it to the quarter-finals of this Women’s Asian Cup. A couple of victories can help us get that winning mentality and make everyone believe that we can do it. Football is, after all, a mental game.”
India will play their first group match against Iran on January 20 before taking on Chinese Taipei and China on January 23 and 26 respectively.”
He believes that the calibre of Indian players would surprise Europeans. After the COVID-19 epidemic is over, he hopes that other players will follow in Bala Devi's footsteps and begin playing in Europe.
He further said, “I have friends in Sweden and all over Europe who keep on asking me about our players, and I keep on telling them that the quality we have in India may surprise them all. They have played in Sweden, so maybe doors may open for some of them. We also need to remember that under the pandemic situation, it’s hard for clubs from Europe to bring in players from India because you cannot send them for trials. So I earnestly hope our camp in Sweden can throw up some opportunities for them."
Dennerby was asked about the players on the current Indian team who had impressed him the most, “We have some players who are playing at a very good level and players with special qualities. It is hard to single one out as all of them are special. This being a team game, it’s not appropriate to specify names at the moment. But some of the girls have been very impressive. I keep on pushing them.”
