Three changes Naushad Moosa must make for India's clash against Kyrgyz Republic U23

The Blue Colts lost the last match 3-2 after going down to 10 men

The India U23 national football team will be back in action when they face off against the Kyrgyz Republic U23 side in their next clash on Saturday, June 21 (2025). This will be the Blue Colts’ final game as part of the Tajikistan tour and also their last ‘dress rehearsal’ before the start of the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, which will happen in September 2025.

Naushad Moosa’s side will be heading into the Kyrgyz Republic U23 clash on the back of a heart-breaking 3-2 loss to Tajikistan U23 in their previous game. Despite taking the lead twice in that game, they ended up losing because of two late goals being conceded.

There were quite a few major takeaways from the performances and Moosa knows the kind of changes he needs to make to his team’s approach for them to defeat the Kyrgyz Republic U23. Here, we look at the changes necessary for the Indian U23 side for the upcoming clash.

3. Find the ideal midfield combination

India struggled to hold their own in the midfield battle against Tajikistan in their previous friendly. To make things worse, Ayush Chhetri was sent off in the game and is now set to miss this game. That can give Naushad Moosa the chance to fix up his midfield shape and add a bit more defensive security to the midfield.

The ideal candidate to replace Chhetri is probably Vibin Mohanan, who enjoyed a pretty good 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign with Kerala Blasters. Mohanan can add a bit more aggression to the midfield with his hard-working nature and win the ball back more often in the midfield, helping create more counter-attacking opportunities.

He should also be an ideal partner for Lalrinliana Hnamte and Macarton Nickson in the midfield, helping them maintain more control for India in the midfield.

2. Add more pace to the wide areas

Moosa is likely to change his team around for the upcoming game against Kyrgyz Republic U23 as he’d like to give all his players the chance to impress. A bit of a necessary change would be to potentially switch the wingers that started against Tajikistan. It’d be smart to play the combination of Korou Singh and Mohammed Aimen rather than Vinith Venkatesh and Mohammed Sanan for this clash.

Korou was a breath of fresh air for Kerala Blasters in the past ISL season, grabbing a handful of assists and tormenting defenders with his pace. He can be a major threat on counter-attacks or if having to drive his side forward through the wide areas. Aimen also produced a slick assist to set up Parthib Gogoi’s goal against Tajikistan U23 and is blessed with a lot of creativity, which can benefit the Blue Colts in their upcoming clash.

1. Solve the set-piece woes

The biggest challenge for Naushad Moosa in this upcoming clash will be to find a solution to India U23’s struggles when it comes to defending against crosses or set-piece delivery. All three of the goals that they conceded in the last match came from high crosses or set-piece delivery that the defenders nor goalkeeper Priyansh Dubey could do much about.

Moosa has to prepare his players strongly to defend against crosses, knowing how the Kyrgyz Republic U23 players will look to torment them in that area.

He needs to change up how his side defends set-piece, potentially going with a man-marking system to neutralize the opposition threat. He needs to shape his defensive line strongly enough for them to defend against the high crosses bravely and not concede sloppy goals once again.

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