With India taking on Mauritius in their Intercontinental Cup opener at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on 3rd September, a new chapter for Manolo Marquez era in the Indian national team is going to begin, obviously with the absence of Sunil Chhetri who bid farewell from international football recently.

The Spanish coach, in the media conference on Monday, revealed he is thrilled, especially the match at Hyderabad where his journey in Indian football as a coach began five years ago. Defender Roshan Singh Naorem accompanied the coach at the press conference.

The Blue Tigers held their first training session on a rainy Sunday evening at the Hyderabad FC training ground. They will have one more session together on Monday before lacing up their boots for the Mauritius clash. 

However, Marquez feels despite only two training sessions before the first match he would be able to observe the footballers’ attitude and approach towards the game. 

Márquez divulged that This competition can be a preparation for the senior national squad before the bigger task awaiting in the coming year, the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. 

He said, “The main target of playing these games in September, October, and November is to prepare for the more important thing - the Asian Cup qualifiers, the first game of which is in March. The first FIFA window now is a little tricky because we are still in pre-season.” 

India’s opponents Mauritius are also in a similar situation, using the Intercontinental Cup as preparation for their competitive matches ahead. In their ongoing FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, they have picked up four points in as many matches, including a win over higher-ranked Eswatini in their previous outing in June. Before the qualifying games resume in March next year, Mauritius look to make the most of their preparatory match windows.