Ratings: Naorem, Apuia only bright sparks in India's collective failure against Uzbekistan

This was Uzbekistan’s first win in AFC Asian Cup 2023.

India suffered another defeat in the ongoing AFC Asian Cup 2023 against a higher-ranked Uzbekistan side. Igor Stimac’s team found themselves on the defense from the third minute, as the entire defense seemed to caught ball watching during the first defensive transition of the game. The pressure continued to mount, resulting in India conceding three goals in the first half.

Despite making efforts to regroup in the second half, India was unable to convert their exertion into goals. Consequently, the team couldn’t stage a comeback.

Here are the ratings from the game:

India Ratings (by Rutvij Joshi)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu – 4

No communication whatsoever, he was all over the place. One of his poorest performances in recent times.

Nikhil Poojary – 4

Nikhil Poojary was lethargic in his offensive and defensive movements. There was a big gap for Uzbekistan to cut in from the right hand side. Moreover, his decision making ability when he had the ball in his feet was substandard.

Sandesh Jhingan – 3.5

India’s most experienced defender was seen ball watching in the first goal and was all over the spaces whenever the team was under pressure.

Rahul Bheke – 4

Rahul Bheke was the culprit  for the second goal. No communication was seen between him and other players

Akash Mishra – 5.5

Made occasionals runs down the left wing in building the attacks but his runs and crosses meant absolutely nothing.

Apuia – 6

Apuia  had a decent game and tried everything he had under his sleeve. But with very little help from his midfield compatriots offered him very little help.

Suresh Singh – 4

Suresh was physically bodied, his performance went vulnerable and made mistakes. His desire and hunger was there but sadly no physicality.

Anirudh Thapa – 5

Like Suresh, Anirudh Thapa was bullied physically and with Uzbekistan moving the ball at high tempo there was nothing that Thapa could do.

Manvir Singh – 3

Manvir Singh was perplexed every time he received the ball. Moreover, due to his slow pace he was often left behind in transition. Apart from that his work ethic was poor which left Poojary on his own down the left.

Naorem Mahesh Singh – 6

Naorem Mahesh was isolated on the left as most attacks came from right from India. He had a chance for goal but was dealt with by the Uzbekistan keeper.

Sunil Chhetri – 5

The Indian skipper wasn’t convincing enough in front of goal . He received good aerial balls but could not keep it on target.

Substitutions

Rahul KP -7

India’s best player by far, he troubled the Uzbekistan defense with pace. He also had a shot on goal which was thwarted by the defense.

Brandon Fernandes – 6

Brandon did his best in creating the chances since his arrival. Rahul Bheke got at the end of one of his corners.

Ishan Pandita – 5

Ishan gave fresh energy to India in attack but was left chasing the ball for most periods.

Deepak Tangri – N/A

Udanta Singh -N/A 

Uzbekistan Player Ratings (By Gourav Samal)

Utkir Yusupov – 7.5

Yusupov exhibited exceptional skill in his handling of the ball, effectively neutralizing the opposition’s advances with his precise collections and touches.

Farrukh Sayfiev – 7

Sayfiev not only demonstrated strong control of the backline, but also made forward runs on occasion. In the 80th minute, he even had an opportunity to score, but unfortunately, he was unable to execute the final touch accurately.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 7.5

Khusanov primarily employed physical tactics to prevent the Indian players from advancing into the final third.

Eshmurodov Umarbek – 7

Umarbek demonstrated exceptional skill in preventing the Indian forwards from entering the danger area through his adept tackling and clearances.

Sherzod Nasrullaev – 7

Nasrullaev executed a series of impressive tackles around the 40th minute, which stood out as his most noteworthy performance of the night.

Oston Urunov – 8

Urunov was unable to add the final touches in the match; however, his performance was outstanding. He relentlessly exerted himself on the field and made strenuous efforts to penetrate the defense on numerous occasions.

Odiljon Hamrobekov – 7.5

Hamroberkov displayed exceptional performance in the midfield, contributing significantly to creating scoring opportunities. Additionally, he delivered an assist in the 63rd minute which couldn’t get converted.

Otabek Shukurov – 8

Shukurov delivered a splendid assist during the initial phase of the match, which was subsequently converted into a goal. 

Jaloliddin Masharipov – 7

Masharipov proved to be a formidable challenge for the Indian defenders on the left flank. Whenever he gained possession, he consistently posed significant difficulties for the opposing team.

Abbosbek Fayzullaev – 8

Fayzullaev scored the first goal for his team in the 4th minute of play and gave Uzbekistan an early lead in the match.

Igor Sergeev – 7.5

Sergeev increased the team’s lead to two goals in the match by scoring the second goal with a right-footed shot.

Substitutions

Zafarmurod Abdirahmatov – 6.5

Abdirahmatiov replaced Nasrullayev at the beginning of the second half. Despite the Indian team’s increased attacking efforts in the second half, he displayed relentless determination in preventing them from scoring by exerting significant physical effort.  

Azizbek Turg’unboyev – 7

Azizbek was substituted for Jaloliddin Masharipov in the 74th minute of the match. He displayed proficiency in midfield, albeit without demonstrating the same level of determination exhibited by Masharipov during his time on the field.

Hojimat Erkinov – 6.5

Hojimat Erkinov was substituted for Oston Urunov. He experienced difficulty maintaining possession towards the end of the match and was unable to execute the necessary passes to create scoring opportunities.

Jamshid Iskanderov – N/A

Jamshid Boltaboyev – N/A

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