The Indian women’s football team will take on hosts Jordan at the Prince Mohammed stadium in Zarqa in the early hours of Saturday in their second international friendly on the tour.

Priyangka Devi’s solitary strike gave Thomas Dennerby’s side a 1-0 win over Egypt in the first match and India would be keen to make it two wins out of two.

Match Report: Priyangka Devi on target as India beat Egypt in international friendly

These matches are the first set of games that India have faced since the AFC Asian Cup heartbreak where they were unable to participate due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the squad.

Jordan who are ranked just four places below India in the Fifa charts are expected to pose a stronger challenge to the Blue Tigresses as compared to Egypt who were 36 places below India.

Jordan beat India in their only previous meeting in another international friendly in 2018 when the Gulf nation triumphed 2-1. However, India have been in fine form under Dennerby and have won four out of their last six matches. For the Swedish coach, the focus is more on performance than results as he looks to build a team for the future.

“We are trying to build for the longer term. We need to start giving match time to the younger players. The focus is not so much on the results, though we do want to win. The main focus is on performance and giving opportunities to young players.” Dennerby told the AIFF website.

Dennerby further highlighted the importance of using the FIFA windows to play international matches.

“It’s a good way to start playing games again. A small three-nation tournament – there is no special reason behind it other than to build for the future,” said Dennerby.

“The aim should be to play games in every open FIFA window, and add some extra games before competitions. That is normally enough,” he added.

Matchwinner in the last game, Priyangka is revelling in her goal on her senior debut.

“It was a memorable night for me against Egypt. It was my first match for the senior team, and I also managed to score the goal for my country, which makes it all the more special,” Priyangka told the AIFF website.

“I hope to continue in this form and do greater things for my nation,” she added.

Match Details and Telecast

Fixture: India vs Jordan

Date: April 9, 2022

Time: 1:00 AM (IST)

Venue: Prince Mohammed Stadium in Zarqa, Jordan

Telecast: Jordan FA YouTube channel