Heartbreak again for Indian Football, as India crashes out of the AFC Asian Cup. But there are a few positives for India.
- In Current Affairs
- 09:25 PM, Jan 15, 2019
- Atish Bose
Pressure situation has its affects. Some excels under pressure, some wilts. The scenario in the last, all important group game of India, was something similar. India was pitted against Bahrain. They had lost to them by a margin of 5-2 in the last edition of Asian Cup in 2011. But going by the performance of the first two matches there was hope that this time it can be something different. Both the teams needed a win to ensure an automatic qualification to the round of sixteen. Even a draw would have sufficed India’s requirement provided Thailand lost or played a draw with UAE. As Sunil Chhetri spelled out the mood “destiny is in our own hands”. Everyone was praying for national team to grab the opportunity.
Bahrain was quick off the blocks. Attacking Indian half with gusto. India was defending deep. Waiting for the right opportunity to counter attack. But that moment hardly came by. Bahrain had packed the midfield and they were having a field day. India defended well. But it was not the same as the previous two matches. Bahrain had read Indian strategy well and have left no space for India to make a swift counter move. Much to India’s delight the first half ended at 0-0. The second half started with similar fashion. It was evident India was playing for a draw. They were happy sitting deep and thwart Bahrain attacks. But as the match progressed the intensity of attacks increased. Bahrain looked like they were more eager to progress to the next round. India gave away free kicks at dangerous position. India’s shot stopper Gurpreet Singh stood tall along with the defence to keep a clean sheet. But the persistence showed by Bahrain finally paid off as captain for the day Pronoy Halder unnecessarily brought down an opponent player inside the box. The referee had no hesitation to point to the spot. Bahrain took the lead and the match away from India in the 91st minute. With the result UAE, who played out a stalemate against Thailand, and Bahrain qualified for the knockout phase. Thailand can still hope to qualify as one of the four best third place teams with India crashing out from the group stage.
I had hoped for two things before start of the competition. One India presents a beautiful brand of football. Two it plays out at least two draws. Except for the last match point one has been achieved. For point two they won one comprehensively and almost qualified for the knock out stages.
Though Stephen Constantine stuck with his choice of players for the tournament (which is understandable) but he overlooked certain aspects. He left the most in form striker Jobby Justin back home. He even didn’t bother to call him to the national camp. Instead he chose Sumit Passi. When your first choice strikers are not scoring you have to look for options.
For a long time midfield has been a problematic area for India. After Eugeneson Lyngdoh India doesn’t have a creative midfielder. Anirudh Thapa is good but has a long way to go. Bahrain with five midfielders completely overran India. They didn’t allow India to execute their game plan and forced India to play for a stalemate. And when you upset your opponent’s game plan half the battle is won.
What did India do wrong in the previous two games? We never took the game to Bahrain. There was no tweak in the strategy as the game progressed. Another thing to ponder is our bench strength. There was nobody on the Indian bench who can come and have an impact on the game. This raises again a question on squad selection. Was it right on Constantine’s part to completely overlook the I-League? Well with today’s news been resignation put in by Constantine India can look forward to a fresh start. It is imperative for India to start looking at the world cup and Asian cup qualifiers from today. I will hope India hires a shrewd tactician who will be able to guide the team for next five years.
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