Indian football team coach Marquez Manolo

India head coach Marquez Manolo is winless in three matches, and he admitted during the international friendly against familiar rivals Malaysia here on Monday that his team needs to “improve everything”.

Under the leadership of Manolo, who was appointed head coach in July, India has so far lost once and drawn twice. In the Intercontinental Cup in September, India drew with Mauritius and lost 0–3 to Syria. The team played a 1-1 draw with Vietnam in its last match on 12 October.

If the Indian team does not get a positive result on Monday, it will end the year without a win in 11 matches. Monday's match will also be India's last match before the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in March next year.

“Obviously, we want to win after a long time. Football is about attack, defence, transitions and set pieces. We need to improve in everything,” Manolo said in a pre-match press conference on Sunday.

“For example, people say you played a great second half in Vietnam. I say 'yes', but we still made some big mistakes which almost cost us the game. We need to work on that. Usually But there is a team with less mistakes.” The one who wins the game.

Manolo said, “We will try to play a good game with less mistakes than Malaysia. We know Malaysia's style, I know the coach well. They play good football and it is a good game for both teams.” It's going to be a tough game.”

The two sides have faced each other 32 times and there is nothing separating the two sides in the head-to-head results. The Blue Tigers and Harimau Malaya have won 12 matches each, while eight have ended in draws.

There is also very little difference in the current FIFA rankings, with India at 125th and Malaysia at 133rd.

“It is a friendly game but it will be good to check the level against the Pot 2 team (Malaysia) in the qualifiers. We have been without a win for a long time, so obviously we want to win. We want to show improvement in that. Making it in the training session,” Manolo said.

The draw for the Asian Cup qualifiers will take place on 9 December. India, ranked 125th, will be placed in Pot 1, while Malaysia, ranked 133rd, will be placed in Pot 2. Whatever the outcome of Monday's game, India will retain their position in Pot 1.

Manolo said senior player and central defender Sandesh Jhingan, who is returning to action after recovering from an injury sustained 10 months ago, is “the most difficult Indian player to replace”.

“You don't have players like this. It's not that he is Messi, but because he is very important to the team, in terms of leadership, how he performs, in terms of his character.”

Forward Edmund Lalrindika, who accompanied Manolo at the press conference, said, “This is our third camp with coach Manolo. He is really a great coach. The preparation has been good. Everyone is comfortable with him. I enjoy training with him.” We all know what he wants from us. We are waiting for tomorrow.”

The India–Malaysia football rivalry goes back a long way – from their first meeting in a friendly match in Kuala Lumpur in 1957, which India won 3–0, to last year's Merdeka tournament semi-final, in which Malaysia ran out 4–2 winners.

Like Manolo, Malaysia head coach Pau Marti is also from Barcelona and took charge of Harimau Malaya in July. Under his leadership, they won the Merdeka tournament in September and lost 0–4 to New Zealand last month.

Malaysia defeated Laos 3-1 in a friendly match in Bangkok on November 14 and arrived in India from the Thai capital late on Saturday night.

“I'm very excited to play against Manolo. He is a great coach with a lot of experience. We are from the same city. He has coached many clubs at different levels, from the fourth level to La Liga. For me, Manolo is an inspiration.

“He has been in India for three or four years and working with different clubs. I'm sure the Indian team will be well prepared,” Marty said.

“I believe it is very difficult to play here. We expect a very tough game. As a team we have to improve our record away from home. This has made it difficult to win. So I think it will be a good challenge and opportunity for us,” said the Malaysian coach.