Confusing tactics, inability to score & other talking points from India football team's disastrous AFC Asian Cup 2023 campaign

The Blue Tigers failed to score a single goal at AFC Asian Cup 2023.

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup will possibly go down as the best AFC Asian Cup in terms of ambience, facilities and excitement, but not for the Indian football team who recorded their worst-ever campaign at the continental championship.

The Blue Tigers failed to score a goal or even manage a point from their three group stage games. They began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to favourites Australia followed by a 3-0 demolition by Uzbekistan and then a 1-0 loss to Syria in the last game.

It has been an Asian Cup to forget for India and its fans. On that note, let us take a look at the talking points from India’s journey at Asia’s flagship tournament.

Team selection

The Blue Tigers failed to bring consistency in their team lineup. Igor Stimac put in a new starting XI in every game which led to nothing but chaos. Deepak Tangri put in a wonderful performance against Australia, but he wasn’t started in the game against Uzbekistan who are equally physical and faster. 

Rahul KP put in very good performances and deserved a chance on the right wing, but he wasn’t presented with enough opportunities. Moreover, India missed creativity in the middle during Sahal Abdul Samad’s absence. Brandon Fernandes should’ve been the player to replace Sahal during his absence, but that just wasn’t the case and the result is there for everyone to see.

Lack of intent

Ahead of the tournament, Igor Stimac had said that he did not consider the 2023 AFC Asian Cup important because his team will not have enough time to prepare for it during a press conference after the defeat to Qatar in November. Stimac’s comments raised questions about his intent going into the continental championship. And that’s true, India lacked intent because they just did not present enough threat to the opposition defenders who certainly had a gala time facing India because there wasn’t much to do.  

Stimac has always been vocal about his priority being the World Cup Qualifiers, but it just doesn’t work that way. His team landed in Doha on 31st December and had more than 10 days to prepare and if that’s not enough to manage a single point or even score a goal at Asia’s highest level, there is certainly something wrong.

Inability to read opposition

India failed to read their oppositions. They failed to make their gameplans according to their opposition. For example, India played Deepak Tangri who is a proper defensive midfielder in the matches against Australia and Syria and he did make a difference with his presence on the pitch. He was India’s best player in the match against Australia. Deepak also put in a very good shift against Syria and won many tactical fouls without conceding a yellow card.

But, Tangri was dropped out of the line-up against Uzbekistan who are a equally physically robust side and the result is well-known to everyone. Instead Stimac played a midfield of Anirudh Thapa, Suresh Wangjam and Apuia who were physically bullied in the middle. It’s true that India conceded goals even with Tangri on the pitch, but the difference was very much visible. 

Inability to score goals

India failed to score a single goal at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. In three matches, they conceded six goals and scored zero. Igor Stimac has been India’s head coach since 2019, but has failed to create a team which can score at least one goal at Asia’s most prestigious football tournament.  If you don’t kill, you get killed and that’s exactly what happened with India. 

They failed to score goals but their opposition didn’t fail to tear them apart on the pitch. Stimac has always been vocal about the lack of game-time for Indian forwards in the ISL. Try picking players from the I-League who are putting in consistent performances maybe? If other teams can call-up players from their second division leagues, what’s stopping India? If you cannot create forwards, at least try and make the most out of the available resources which Stimac has failed to do.

Tactics

India looked clueless with their tactics on the pitch. Igor Stimac used certain players in certain roles which did not fit them. Manvir Singh was played on the right wing despite unsatisfactory performances from him. It seemed as if the players did not have a defined role in the team. While Sahal was away, Suresh was made to fulfill his role which is exactly opposite to his style of play. 

Sunil Chhetri was not put into positions where he could maximize his potential and score some goals. And the major issue was that the midfield failed to advance balls to the forward line. Nikhil Poojary is not the right-back that the national team needs because he just doesn’t fit in, but still Stimac chose to pick just one right-back in his squad. While we can always speak about the positives from the tournament, Stimac got it all wrong and it’s a fact that he needs to accept.

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