Adjudged ‘best of the best’ at the 2010 World Cup with the Golden Ball, Diego Forlan had long been the face of Uruguayan football. Once a fine forward, adept at both scoring and playmaking, he was given charge of the national team last August. It is the ‘interim’ before the ‘head coach’ designation that hints at the 47-year-old being on trial as he negotiates, in the latest FIFA international window, his first outings with the national team as coach.

On Tuesday, the South Americans, ranked 20th, meet 138th-ranked India at the Salt Lake Stadium here in another clash of unequals.