In the end, it worked out well for the Blue Tigers. Igor Stimac may have saved his job, but it could be a temporary stoppage of the gallows for the Croatian. The performance in stages leaves much to be desired, as India’s football was tedious at times, and unwatchable in the worst case. Despite the 8th SAFF title, there is little doubt that the men’s national team has retreated since their exit from the 2019 Asian Cup group stages.
More importantly, Sunil Chhetri’s future post – a question that has been discussed many times – looks as bleak as ever. His successor seemed out of ideas at times, as the 37-year-old continues to lead the line to this day. Suresh Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad may have scored in the final, but it is too early to speculate about Chhetri’s life ahead.
a low point
In the larger scheme of things, the draw against Sri Lanka should not be forgotten. The islanders – the 205th in the world – are a collection of semi-professional footballers and a draw against them certainly represents a new low for the Blue Tigers.
This isn’t the first time India clashed against a semi-pro side – the 2-1 loss to Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers brings back memories. Stephen Constantine managed to reverse it after the World Cup qualification campaign and qualified for the Asian Cup. Whether the Stimac can emulate its predecessor remains to be seen.
The nature of India’s draw against Sri Lanka was a matter of serious concern. There were several shots, but barring a point-blank lapse from Subhasish Bose, there were no alarm bells for the Lankans. India’s opening draw against Bangladesh was also chaotic as their opponents dominated the match by knocking down a man.
Players hiding behind the coach?
Stimac has come under tremendous criticism for its strategy and rightly so. His strategy has been a bit quirky at times, in a tournament where India should have dominated. It must be remembered that the last time India played this tournament, they participated with their U23 team and lost to Maldives in the final. The senior team is struggling this time, is this victory a celebration for the team making it to the Asian Cup?
The players, however, have largely escaped condemnation in the media storm surrounding the coach and his tactical prowess. Barring Chhetri and Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte, there was hardly any exceptional performance from the side as a whole or individually.
Read also: Indian men’s football team dedicates 8th SAIF title to ‘Team Spirit’
The team looks much better when Anirudh Thapa plays but the Chennaiyin midfielder has to struggle for a spot on the bench at times. Brandon Fernandes, certainly the most creative player in the team and the standout Indian midfielder in the league for 3 years, will have to fight for scrap as the coach is preferring Suresh Singh. Sahal scored in the final but his role was limited to a substitute and is set to continue for the foreseeable future.
The fact that the midfield looks shaky and lacks creativity is no secret, as the coach has yet to find a starting trio in the middle of the park. It appears that Rollin Borges has dropped out of the national team entirely, as has Llinjuala Chhangte – both heroes of the Constantine Renaissance.
The revolving door of the players extends to the defense as well, as Bose ended the tournament in a bad way sending him on a low note. Pritam Kotal remains at centre-back, but the Bengali has never been comfortable in that position. He plays as a right-sided centre-back in the Back 3 for ATKMB under Antonio Habas – a far cry from playing as part of a pair for the national team. Chinglensana Singh has made some high-profile mistakes that lead straight towards the goals and will continue at the centre-back, presumably until Sandesh Jhingan returns to take his rightful place. But later the lack of playing time in Croatia will continue to be a major concern with the final round of the Asian Cup Qualifiers.
The biggest problem for Stimac is attack. In the absence of Brandon’s balls and his aggressive passing, Stimac is up to his wide men to deliver the ball to Chhetri. Manveer Singh may have ended his 16-game goalless drought, but his poor performance did not go unnoticed by fans and even technical committee chairman Shyam Thapa.
Udanta Singh remains a man unable to impress matches, while the clamor for last season’s best Indian winger Jerry Mawimingthanga continues. According to sources his constant absence from the team has been put back on track due to lack of support, but in a team devoid of creativity, his prolonged non-selection has certainly created more problems than solved.
The Asian Cup
The target is to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup, after which Sunil Chhetri is expected to withdraw from the national team. India has never managed to qualify for the successive editions of the Asian Cup and despite scoring 6 goals in 2 matches, they will face a tough challenge in the qualifiers.
Last time around, a final qualifying group consisting of Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Macau was incidental to a team – credit where it is due – that had played very well for the better part of 2 years. The team going into the last Asian Cup looked faster, hungrier and fitter than the current crop.
This time around, the clash against some of the poorest sides in the world has raised more uncomfortable questions for the coach and the technical committee who will surely take action if India fails to make it to 2023. Chhetri will be determined to end his international career in high but conditions. A team in transition could deprive the talismanic Bengaluru FC striker of the swansong he largely deserves. For now, both Team India and Igor Stimac have a lot of work to do.
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