Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023: Five talking points from India’s win against Mongolia

The Blue Tigers registered a 2-0 win in the Intercontinental Cup opener

India have earned an incredible start to their 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup campaign, as they put on a dominating performance against opponents Mongolia, to register a convincing 2-0 win at the Kalinga Stadium.

Two early goals by Sahal Abdul Samad and Lallianzuala Chhangte were all that was needed by India to see the game through.

Igor Stimac’s men dominated possession, and remained stable throughout the night, to get a pretty comfortable result.

With that said, here are the five major talking points from this plausible Indian victory.

5. Splendid performance by Sahal

Sahal had a lot of confidence in his play tonight, and seemed invariably sharp with his passing as well as his dribbling. Kerala’s bright prodigy, who had a poor form recently, made a bold statement of his possible return, as he got his name on the scoresheet as well. 

Sahal made a number of jaw dropping moves and passes, and was one of the most impressive Indian players on the pitch tonight. 

But the big question that now stands is, whether he will be able to carry this boost in confidence into the coming games, and can we soon get to see the best of Sahal once again?

4. A fluid midfield

Sahal, Apuia and Anirudh Thapa combined beautifully against Mongolia, and provided a pretty impressive midfield performance. Sahal and Anirudh were the creative spark in the team, who played some beautiful through balls, and also helped in the switch of play.

Apuia on the other hand, stood strong in front of the defence, and was once again exceptional with his simple but effective passing.

3. Strong line of defence

India’s centre-back duo - Sandesh Jhingan and Anwar Ali, did an incredible job tonight, to keep Mongolia’s strong attacking contingent at bay. The pair made sure that India kept their lead intact, and restricted Mongolia to only a solitary shot on target. 

The centre-backs also impressed at times with their long balls, which really opened up the play for the wingers.

2. Chhangte at it again

Lallianzuala Chhangte was crowned as the man of the match, and rightfully so. The Mumbai City FC player did incredibly well throughout the entirety of the game, and also got on the scoresheet after striking a loose ball near the face of the goal. 

Chhangte also provided a number of crosses from the wings, and made some positive runs to open up the play.

1. Less amount of pressure on Sunil Chhetri

One of the biggest positive takeaways from India’s game tonight, was the lack of pressure that Sunil Chhetri was under. The captain had a fairly quiet night, but that didn’t stop the Blue Tigers from roaring at the face of Mongolia, and blitzing past them. 

This is also a clear indication of how the entire team is working together as a whole, and there is a significant drop in the over-reliance on Chhetri.