We have to play together and fearless to beat Oman: Gurpreet

The Indian football team's goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu says his team has a good chance of upstaging Oman in Thursday's World Cup qualifying opener here if it is plays with a fearless approach.

India are all set to take on Oman here for their first encounter of the qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup, China 2023. The hosts have never won against the visitors in a FIFA-recognised match.

"We play to win. We will play to our strengths, and look to keep the opposition at bay. Hopefully, we can get off to a good start and pick up the maximum points to start off the qualifiers," said the Arjuna awardee.

"We have to play together as a team, and without fear. Getting off to a good start will be really important," he added.

The last time the two teams faced off was in a friendly game in 2018, the match ending in a goalless draw in Abu Dhabi.

Gurpreet said the team draws a lot of positives from that result, but at the same time, it is vital for it to "focus on the job ahead."