Rahul Bheke hopeful of crowd backing as India aim to start Asian Cup Qualifiers on a high

Indian defender Rahul Bheke is hopeful that they will get a good crowd for the two matches against Maldives and Bangladesh. The Blue Tigers will take part in the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Third Round. Marquez’s team will play a friendly against the Maldives on March 19 in Shillong before hosting Bangladesh at the same venue in their opening qualifier.

India would aim to kick off their campaign against Bangladesh on a high and they would aim to tighten the screws against Maldives on Wednesday.

Defender Rahul Bheke, who scored in India’s last match against Malaysia in November, said, “We’ve had a good start to the camp, with two solid training sessions. We still have two more days before our friendly, and that’s great preparation for the 25th game (against Bangladesh). I think Maldives will be a good test because they are a similar kind of side to what Bangladesh will be.”

Bheke admitted that both Maldives and Bangladesh are quality teams and they will need to be at their best against them.

“I have played against both teams before, but it’s been a few years since we last met them. I have seen their clips from recent matches. They are both good teams aiming to qualify for the Asian Cup. So, we need to do our best. These are two home matches that we surely need to win.”

Bheke has all the experience of playing in Shillong and he is hopeful that the stadium will be jam-packed by the Indian crowd.

“I have played in Shillong before, during I-League, and recently came here with Bengaluru FC to play against NorthEast United. The weather was really cold last time, but now it’s pleasant for football. Everyone enjoyed training on the pitch here. We know that the atmosphere will be good and the support will be loud. We experienced that during the ISL. The stadium was packed. We hope that the same number of people, if not more, will be present during the India matches,” said the defender.

The Indian captain added they need to come up with a collective effort while trying to convert set pieces.

“Whenever it comes to set pieces, it’s not about one individual. It’s about the entire group and what goes into the set piece – right from the delivery to the men who are blocking and the final touch. Everything has to be perfect. If everyone else does their job, but I go and miss, it’s a total loss for the team. So, everything needs to come together in order to get the goals. And it’s not just me getting on the end; there are other players who score from set pieces, and that variety is a good advantage for us. We know that sometimes games can be won through set pieces. It is one of our strengths,” said Bheke.