India to miss key men against Zambia in soccer friendly

PANAJI: Savio Medeira is crystal-clear in his mind on how he needs to tackle high-flying Zambia in an international friendly at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Tuesday.
"I don't care about the results. We have to entertain the crowd here, make them love football and get them back to the ground. The clash will be all about entertainment," the India coach told reporters on Monday.
The Goa Football Association, celebrating their own and the state's golden jubilee, have lined up plenty of entertainment for the international clash.
There will be ball juggler Anto, latino star Belinda with her Tropicanos and even Remo is talked about making his presence felt at the stadium.
But, on the field, locating a big entertainer will be a tough act especially since strikers Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua are both away in Europe trying their luck with Glasgow Rangers.
"Chhetri and Jeje have been the main strikers for India. Their absence somewhat unsettles the team but it's also a challenge for the others to proved that they are as good, if not better," said the Indian coach.
The "others", as Medeira pointed out, are Joaquim Abranches, Baljit Singh and Sushil Singh, all of whom are neither first-choice strikers for their own teams in the I-League, or as in the case of Sushil, not even in India's premier league.
Medeira is expected to start with Baljit and Sushil, and with only Abranches to fall back on. Should either of them fail to fire, there is talk within the team that Dempo midfielder Anthony Pereira could be asked to revert to his original striking role. "Anthony is certainly an option," admitted the India coach.
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