India to play Iran without Bhutia

DOHA - India are faced with a herculean task as they go into their final Group D football league match against strong contenders Iran at the Asian Games without their captain and talisman Bhaichung Bhutia who has to sit out after collecting two yellow cards in the tournament.

India will badly miss the services of the Mohun Bagan striker on Wednesday in a match in which they cannot afford any slip-up to have any hope of advancing to the quarter-finals.

A match-up with strong Iran for a guaranteed place in the last eight was always going to be a daunting task but the absence of the mercurial Bhutia has made it even more difficult for his teammates.

The Indians drew their first match against Hong Kong 1-1 and then relied on a last-minute goal from Subhas Chakraborty to pull off a thrilling 2-1 win over the Maldives. They are now placed second on the points table with four points while Iran was leading with six.

The top teams from each of the six groups will qualify for the quarter-finals while the two best teams from the ones finishing second will also secure a place in the last eight.

The Indians have so far given a reasonably good account of themselves and even a draw against Iran tomorrow should keep them in the reckoning for a quarter-final berth as a second placed team. However, coach Bob Houghton will no doubt be a worried man due to the non-availability of Bhutia as the forward line not only lacked the experience but also the skill to pierce the strong Iranian defence.

Manjit Singh has not shown the desired consistency up front and it remains to be seen who takes Bhutia's place as a striker for the crucial floodlit encounter at the Al-Saad Sports Complex.

Houghton has the option of fielding one or more among Subhas Chakraborty, Syed Rahim Nabi or Sunil Chhetri in the starting line-up.

The Indians, ranked 148th in the FIFA charts, know their limitations and their first target would be to play out a draw against their formidable opponents as achieving a victory appears to be a herculean task.

Climax Lawrence, who has been brilliant in the midfield in both the matches, will again have a key role to play and much will depend on how well he can feed the strikers.

Although the medios have been reasonably successful, the defence will have to pull up their socks to be able to ward off the persistent assaults on their citadel on Wednesday.