Ratings: Astam Oraon omnipresent in defence, but toothless India attack disappoints

Thomas Dennerby's side have mathematically been knocked out of the tournament.

The host of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, India gave a strong account of themselves against fellow group mates from Africa, Morocco, but just couldn’t match up to their level and as a result fell short for a second consecutive game.

India displayed their sparks of improvement in the first half, but couldn’t keep up with Morocco’s pressure in the second half. All in all, the young Blue Tigresses put up a better fight for pride following the 0-8 defeat to the United States in their first game. 

Morocco registered their first win at the tournament with a 3-0 victory against the hosts, courtesy a dominant second half performance.

On that note, let us take a look at how the players performed.

Melody Keisham (GK) - 6.5

The keeper came off her line multiple times to collect the ball and even made up for her mistake in the first half. She was really good in the first half, but her second half mistake cost India the game. However, she did make a fingertip save in the closing minutes of the second half and prevented Morocco from putting more misery.

Shubhangi Singh - 7.0

She displayed a good performance this time around. Shubhangi really managed to keep up with the pace of the Moroccan players on most occasions. She played a couple of key passes and even made important clearances during set pieces.

Naketa - 7.0

She was solid for the majority of the game and made her routine clearances, but all her good work went into vain after she gave away a game-changing penalty. Naketa also gave tough competition to Yasmine Zouhir in the aerial duels.

Shilky Hemam - 7.0

Shilky was much better today on the pitch. She cleared her lines on time and displayed no-nonsense defending. She even took a card for the team with a tactical foul in the first half.

Astam Oraon - 7.0

The skipper came up with multiple top clearances in either halves. Astam was omnipresent to dispossess the Moroccan attackers when they tried to attack from her flank. She also made more than five crucial interceptions and did not give up until the last minute.

Kajal - 6.5

She put up a much improved performance than the last game. Kajal defended really well for most parts of the game. She cleared the danger inside the box a lot of times.

Kajol Dsouza - 7.5

She won the ball in the middle of the park a lot of times and even maintained her composure with her ball distribution. Kajol also made important defensive contributions when the situation demanded.

Babina Lisham - 7.0

She bossed the midfield for India and made up for her teammates’ mistakes with crucial interceptions and passes. Babina literally fought against the Moroccan players to win the ball.

Nitu Linda - 7.0

Nitu made runs into the box and even sent in good looking balls. She troubled Morocco’s defence with her bursting pace and crucial interceptions. But, she also gaveaway the ball quite easily with a poor first touch.

Neha - 7.0

She took the set pieces, but India couldn’t really capitalise on it. Neha used her pace and precision well to create chances for India, but again, all the chances went unconverted.

Anita Kumari - 7.0

She made bombing runs forward and even played the floater’s role at times. Anita was the only Indian player on the pitch to test the Moroccan keeper once.

Substitutes

Sudha Tirkey - 6.5

Sudha came on as a half-time replacement for Kajal Dsouza. She went shoulder-to-shoulder with the Moroccan defence during the aerial battles.

Shailja - 6.5

Shailja came on at the 66th minute as a replacement for Shilky Hemam. She couldn’t do much for her side as Morocco turned on their beast mode.

Lynda Kom Serto - 6.5

Lynda replaced Neha in the 66th minute. She just came on and adjusted well into the mix. Lynda was really good with her ball control and passing in the opposition territory.

Rejiya Laishram - N/A

Rejiya came on in the 77th minute for Nitu Linda to make her World Cup debut. She took some time to settle in and hence couldn’t make an impact.