Communication breakdowns and other talking points from India's draw against Afghanistan in FIFA WC Qualifiers

India lacked rhythm in the final third and settled for a meagre point.

India and Afghanistan played out a lukewarm goalless draw in their Group A contest of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (second round) in Saudi Arabia. The game lacked quality in the final third, particularly from Igor Stimac’s men who looked disjointed and uninspired.

The Indian football team needed a win to have a better chance of making it into the final round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers but multiple issues such as communication breakdowns and lack of invention held them back from creating scoring chances. It was a particularly disappointing performance to witness for the fans who did not see any goals or adventurous attacking football.

As the teams shared the spoils, here are some talking points from the goalless draw between Afghanistan and India: 

5. Lack of quality in the final third

Indian attackers simply lacked the quality in their cross deliveries into the box which did not do any favours to the players waiting inside the 18-yard area. Having combined well on a few occasions, the full-backs or the wingers could have shown more intent but rather made half-hearted attempts at crossing, making it easy for the Afghanistan defenders to clear their lines.

4. Absence of composure on the ball

One of the major issues with the Indian team was their inability to retain possession, particularly in the opponent’s half. Between the two sides, Afghanistan looked way more comfortable moving the ball around in the attacking third than the Indian players who were looking jittery and nervous. Barring players like Apuia and Anwar Ali, Indian players gave away possession cheaply due to the lack of composure on the ball.

3. Too many square passes

Indian defenders racked up their passing accuracy stat by making plenty of square passes. Playing vertical passes made it easy for Afghanistan defenders to keep in defensive shape. Igor Stimac needed to instruct his players to attempt more line-breaking penetrative passes but the individuals lacked the creativity and the bravery to play high-risk passes to break defensive lines.

2. Communication breakdowns

A worrying observation that the fans and Igor Stimac must have made was the breakdown in communication between the Indian players on multiple occasions. Vikram Partap Singh failed to combine with Nikhil Poojary, Apuia misplaced simple passes to Akash Mishra, Manvir Singh made runs without receiving timely service, and more. Such examples were shocking to see at such a high level and reiterated why the Indian men’s team is ranked 117 in the world by FIFA.

1. Substitutions introduced too late

Igor Stimac introduced players like Liston Colaco, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Brandon Fernandes in the second half which led to an influx of energy in attack. However, one could argue that the changes came too late from the tactician. The substitutions were needed at the break after India created extremely poor and fewer goal-scoring chances in the first half. In the upcoming game against Afghanistan, Stimac must learn and deploy more flair players to create scoring chances.