AFC Asian Cup 2023 Review: More questions than answers for Igor Stimac's listless Indian football team

India’s performance at the AFC Asian Cup was underwhelming and the group table highlighted what went wrong for Igor Stimac’s side.

The Indian football team ended their upsetting AFC Asian Cup 2023 journey with yet another defeat at the hands of Syria. Igor Stimac’s tried-and-chopped squad witnessed contrasting fortunes at both ends of the pitch. The strikers drew a blank while the defenders could not. To sum it up, India waited for over a year to participate in a tournament in which the team played three matches, scored none and conceded six goals. 

India created history when they qualified for successive AFC Asian Cups for the first time in their history. However, fans would want to delete the memories of the second outing sooner rather than later. The team’s display on the pitch left the nation with several questions – answers to which look grim in the near future. 

A lot was also discussed about the new mechanisms put into place by Croatian World Cup participant Stimac, but it all came to nothing in lackluster displays against Uzbekistan and Syria. A possession-based style of football has been promised and underlined to Indian fans for the last four-odd years, but when it came down the the Asian dream, fans were left wanting for more. 

In this tournament review, let us take a look at how the team performed, the top performers, the under-performers and more. 

The Matches

India reached Qatar to play World No. 25 Australia in a match that was massively lopsided in terms of favoritism. The first 45 minutes of the tournament were massive for the Indian national team. They held fort well against Australia, one of the strongest sides on the continent. The team, led by Sunil Chhetri, also attacked whenever they found an opportunity. Chhetri had a glorious headed chance for himself, while Suresh Singh Wangjam found Lallianzuala Chhangte with a delightful through-ball to create an opportunity. But this was it. The second half saw Rahul KP try to create something, but the Aussies scored twice and took home three points. 

Fans were abuzz in the second game against Uzbekistan. They saw it as an opportunity to stamp their authority – something the team did against Thailand nearly five summers ago. The coach started an attacking XI, a team sans any defensive midfielder. The move backfired and how. Uzbekistan smashed India 3-0 in the first 45. The second 45 saw a stalemate, but the damage had already been done. 

Errors were recognized (and accepted). The playing XI against Syria was more balanced. India started the game on the front foot, attacking both direct and from the wings. However, apart from a chance and a few shots from outside the box, nothing was done on the pitch that could really catch the eye. Omar Khribin broke the deadlock in the 76th minute to end all hopes for the team that came to the Middle East country amidst much fanfare. 

Positives

The Fans

To be fair, it is the biggest positive of the tournament. The Indian team has seldom seen such support on the global stage. The fans cheered their players at every touch, every attempt, every good pass and every clearance. According to a tweet, over 115, 000 Indian fans cheered for the Blue Tigers as they took on Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria. However, they returned with drooped shoulders.

Every other positive was momentary. Suresh’s perfectly-weighted through-ball to find Chhangte, Rahul KP’s runs in matches against Uzbekistan and Syria, Naorem Mahesh Singh’s attempts on target and Subhasish Bose’s long balls to find Manvir in space – all of these were too few and far between. 

Negatives

To start with, the team composition. India selected Rahul Bheke, Pritam Kotal, Lalchungnunga, Sandesh Jhingan and Nikhil Poojary as right-footed defenders. India had no good backup for the right-back position, as Rahul Bheke was asked to start instead of Nikhil Poojary in the game against Syria. All of this, when Ashish Rai has been one of the team’s best right-backs in the last two years. 

Another example is the usage of midfielders in the squad. Sahal Abdul Samad was injured and India hesitated to use their best creative outlet – Brandon Fernandes. It will go down as one of the biggest debacles in the history of Indian football. Stephen Constantine had not selected Brandon for nearly five years and while Igor Stimac did pick the Goan midfielder, he was not brave enough to use the best passer at his disposal. 

India also looked pretty thin in the defensive department. Rahul Bheke was error-prone throughout and was shifted to right-back in the match against Syria. However, once Jhingan was injured, he was reinstated as the centre-back. Why were Pritam Kotal and Lalchungnunga flown to Qatar if they were to just watch games? Kotal is a hugely experienced centre-back who has played as a right-back for both club and country. Meanwhile, Lalchungnunga has huge potential and could’ve been bet upon, had Stimac been braver. 

Team Identity

It was nostalgic for the fans, looking at the Blue Tigers on the continental stage. Balls were played by centre-backs to find willing runners and crosses were put in by wingers and full-backs – a system Stephen Constantine was often targeted and criticized for. Combinations were tried and put into action, but there was no change in results. Indian full-backs played the most important roles in the term’s of build-up and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was called into action more than the strikers. 

India played with an almost non-existent midfield across three games and the strikers failed to win long balls more often than not. Needless to say, the system failed. 

Top performers

Sandesh Jhingan

In a team that failed to score a goal and conceded six times in nearly 300 minutes, it is difficult to find good performers, let alone top performers. Senior defender Sandesh Jhingan played his heart out against Australia and Syria and most of the game against Uzbekistan. The FC Goa defender, however, should work on his passing and look to play the ball forward. 

Rahul KP

Kerala Blasters forward Rahul KP was not given a lot of opportunities and yet he stood out as India’s best attacker. He stretched opposition defences time and again and was brave on the ball, something that cannot be said about Manvir Singh. Rahul created a chance against Australia and came close to scoring against Uzbekistan. Rahul, however, needs to work on his link-up play. 

Deepak Tangri

The standout performer of this team was Deepak Tangri – a defensive midfielder who did the job assigned to him well. Deepak broke innumerable opposition moves and was tactically smart as well. His presence was sorely missed in the 3-0 drubbing against Uzbekistan. Tangri wasn’t afraid to put his body on the line and was also dominant in the air. With a better ability to pass, the 24-year-old would become an absolute treat. 

Underperformer

Manvir Singh

He played as a winger. Then as an inverted forward and then as a proper striker. And he failed at all three. Manvir isn’t a right winger in the mould of Udanta Singh. He is not the inverted forward in the mould of Liston Colaco or Nandhakumar. He is not a striker in the mould of a certain No. 11. Then what is Manvir? 

Manvir exploits space on the outside of the box towards the right half because Indian clubs play narrow football. Once the pitch is stretched wide, chances to do that become few. When inverted, Manvir usually made runs and passed the ball back to the left-back, creating nothing. As a striker (against Syria), he barely got hold of the ball or won long balls. In conclusion, this was one of the most disappointing tournaments for Manvir throughout his career. 

Coach’s report card

After years of promises and preparation, India underwhelmed on the biggest stage. Preparation notwithstanding, the tactics were questionable in the last two games as the Blue Tigers looked to push a little too much on the front foot while allowing space behind them. This (and individual mistakes) created a lot of trouble for Indian defenders, while also putting goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu under undue pressure. 

The coach also failed to instill bravery in his players to play ground passes – a basic need for possession football. While his full-backs and wingers hugged the touchline and widened the pitch, they did not create enough to trouble the opposition. Runs were made, but very little came out of them. 

The coach wasn’t brave in picking players either, going with Lalengmawia as the defensive midfielder in the game against Uzbekistan even when Suresh Singh was on the pitch. He also did not pick Lalchungnunga or Pritam Kotal to replace an injured Sandesh Jhingan against Syria, but went with the tried and tested (and failed) Rahul Bheke in his position. 

Stimac has said his team needs to play at such stages to be better prepared. He needs to understand it is his job to take the team to such stages and get them to perform. 

Lessons Learnt

Where do we start? Pass the ball. On the ground. Play the ball faster. Find space on the pitch and when your teammate does that, use it. Once you’ve stretched a full-back, cross better. It all comes down to better implementation and better football. There’s no need to play a ball-playing midfielder if your centre-backs are going to shoot the ball long. 

Apuia, in the few chances he got, did nothing noteworthy in terms of carrying the ball forward. Subhasish Bose and Rahul Bheke often found themselves looking directly for Manvir and Chhetri – a system that has been looked down upon in India. Going by the kind of football this team has played over the last two-odd years, a sense of fear seemed to have taken over on the continental stage. The question that looms large in this scenario is – did the team prepare well in terms of mentality and for the scale of the challenge they was facing? 

This chapter is over. It remains to be seen whether the books’ pages are burnt or rewritten in the future. 

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