Guam team captain Jason Cunliffe (L) tackles Australia's Archie Thompson. (Photo : Getty Images)
Guam (2-2-1, 7 points) is tied on points with Turkmenistan in Group D of the AFC 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but they are settling at the no. 4 spot because of more goals allowed and a wider goal differential. They are scheduled to face bottom-dweller India (0-0-5, 0 points) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday.
Guam won their first meeting, 2-1, at the Guam F.A. National Training Center in Dededo last June 16 and Gary White's boys look to duplicate their feat in this match in India.
Matao lost a sorry 0-1 decision to Turkmenistan in their last game at the Köpetdag Stadium in Ashgabat last October 13 to squander a chance to be in the top two of the group, as per the AFC official website.
A win over India would move them up to third place, but their remaining two games are against powerhouse teams Iran and Oman, so it would take a miracle for them to advance in the third round of competitions.
Meanwhile, India was trounced by group leader Oman, 0-3, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat also last October 13, to stay winless in the tournament, via Soccerway.
Omani striker Abdulaziz Al-Muqbali had a brace in the second half to bury English coach Stephen Constantine's squad.
As mentioned above, this game is an opportunity for Guam to temporarily move up the standings and give themselves a chance to enter the top two in their next matches.
The predicted result is another 2-1 victory for Guam.
India starting lineup (5-3-2 formation): Singh Sandhu; Mondal, Jhingan, Khongjee, Fernandes, Das; Jairu, Lobo, Borges; Chhetri, Lalpekhlua
Guam starting lineup (5-3-2 formation): Herrick; A. Lee, Romero, Grimes, J. Lee, McDonald; Cunliffe, Guy, Nicklaw; Matkin, Malcolm
