Muristek
Twin friendlies reveal a lot is to be dealt with before Asian Cup qualifiers
Daman Singh
Chandigarh, March 29
March The tale of two recently-concluded international friendlies doesn't quite augur well for the Indian national team and head coach Igor Stimac would be aware of the work that needs to be put in if India are to qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, the qualifiers for which are scheduled for June.
India have won six, lost eight, and drew nine times in the 23 matches played under Igor Stimac. file photosThe trip to Bahrain, where the two matches were played, first against the hosts and the second against Belarus, portrayed the gulf of class, pace and energy levels between India and their opponents. However, the matches provide the only conclusive framework which can be tweaked ahead of the qualifiers, with Stimac also under immense pressure to deliver.
"International football is more demanding especially when we are playing higher-ranked teams. There is a huge difference in the energy levels," the Croat had said after the 1-2 loss to Bahrain.
This was just a peek into international football for the Indian players and the brisk manner it is played at and how unforgiving it can be as compared to the intensity in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Against Bahrain, India simply struggled to match their ferocity. The short passes in the attacking third were too swift and the incisive through balls mingled with the long ones kept India guessing, especially in the first 15 minutes. Across the first half, the possession was given away cheaply and they failed to recover the ball quickly after losing it. India's only clear-cut chance in the first period was debutant Danish Farooq's header going wide off Rahim Ali's cross.
The scoreline could've easily read 4-0 by halftime had Bahrain's Mahdi Al-Humaidan and Mohamed Marhoon taken their chances.
In the second period, India were much better. They applied pressure and didn't play as many mindless long balls. The changes ringed in — another debutant Roshan Singh and Anirudh Thapa were brought on ndash; got India the equaliser. Rahul Bheke headed in a free header from Singh's cross from a short corner as Bahrain paid the price for sloppiness at the back. However, they had the last laugh in the end after another defensive lapse on the left.
Lapses amp; first impressions
Facing a much more "technical team than Bahrain" in Belarus, a team ranked 10 places above them at 94 and "who have recently played against higher-ranking teams such as Belgium and Wales", there was no room for error.
Anything left ajar at the back was bound to be punished. Accordingly, seven changes were made to the line-up, with Singh and Thapa earning a start. Left-back Subhasish Bose ndash; whose multiple errors against Bahrain had mounted unnecessary pressure on the team and had a hand in the two goals ndash; made way for Akash Mishra, who would put in a much more solid performance than the former.
All in all, five defenders were deployed to keep Belarus at bay. And India did a pretty good job in the first period by frustrating their opponents and holding their shape well. On attacking front, they kept the ball low and eschewed long-ball play. Thapa particularly was impressive as he made crucial interceptions and hardly put a foot wrong when put under pressure.
However, all the good work was undone in the second half as the backline was exposed by a long ball from deep inside Belarus' half, which resulted in the opener in the 48th minute. Twenty minutes later, another defensive lapse allowed Andrey Solovey to double the lead. A bruised India conceded a third ndash; after another defensive lapse ndash; in the closing stages of the game when substitute Chinglensana Singh couldn't clear a ball into the box and Valery Gromyko pounced on it to fire it past Gurpreet Singh.