India (three points) played a fired-up Canada (4) on Thursday and it will be difficult task to beat the North Americans who still nurse a grudge over the Barcelona incident in 1996. Two years ago, the Indians were involved in an allegedly fixed match with Malaysia at the Olympic qualifying tournament as the teams played out a draw. The result denied the Canadians a ticket to the Atlanta Games.

The incident is very much vivid in Canadian minds though they would not speak openly about having an axe to grind against the Indians. The Canadian coach, Shiaz Virjee, merely shrugged his shoulders when queried the other day about his players taking on the Indians with a vengeance. "Well, we haven'texactly forgotten Barcelona," said the affable Virjee and left it at that.

Thus, one can expect much heat and excitement in the course of the match, and the Canadians certainly showed what they were capable of when they drew 4-4 with Germany in driving rain on Tuesday night.

It was a terrific performance by any yardstick and few would be surprised if Cananda managed to pull the rug from under Indian feet on the morrow. For India, a win is a must to give themselves a chance to finish in the top six bracket.