Khalid Jamil Hails India’s Fighting Spirit After Panama Draw
Proud, happy and delighted — but India head coach Khalid Jamil is not ready to get carried away just yet. The 1-1 draw against Panama was arguably the best result of his tenure so far, with the Blue Tigers holding a team ranked 94 places above them in the FIFA rankings.
XtraTime Newsdesk: Proud, happy and delighted — but India head coach Khalid Jamil is not ready to get carried away just yet. The 1-1 draw against Panama was arguably the best result of his tenure so far, with the Blue Tigers holding a team ranked 94 places above them in the FIFA rankings.
Few Indian fans would have expected India to take a point from such a challenging contest. But Jamil revealed after the match that his players always believed they could produce a positive result.
Asked about the biggest positive he took from the game, the India coach had a simple answer — “spirit.” The fighting spirit shown by his players impressed and reassured him, particularly against a much higher-ranked opponent.
Jamil was also quick to praise the entire team rather than single out one particular player. From Anwar Ali to young Vijay, Ryan Williams to Asik and Ashish — the coach mentioned several players while stressing that everyone contributed to the performance.
The result has given India confidence, but Jamil knows much bigger challenges are waiting. The Blue Tigers are set to face five-time world champions Brazil and two-time world champions Uruguay in their upcoming matches.
Despite the daunting opposition, Jamil believes his players will once again give everything on the pitch. The India coach also reiterated an important point: if Indian football is to improve, the national team needs to play more matches against top-quality opponents.
For Jamil, the Panama draw is not the destination. It is another step in India’s attempt to test themselves against the best and build the belief that they can compete at a higher level.
