India U23 vs Thailand U23: Dipesh falters, creative lapse, & other talking points

India failed to score any goals against Thailand.

India U23 suffered a crushing 4-0 loss to Thailand in the friendly earlier on Saturday. The Blue Colts failed to cope with the intensity of the hosts, who produced some destructive attacking football and capitalised on India’s errors to score four past Naushad Moosa’s side.

This also marks the heaviest defeat that the India U23 team has suffered since Moosa took over as their head coach. The gaffer introduced some fresh faces to try out different aspects of his system, but was ultimately left disappointed by the underwhelming performance.

India couldn’t even score a goal in the game, only the second time this has happened since Moosa took over as their head coach. Several things went wrong for the Blue Colts, as we look at the talking points for India U23’s loss to Thailand U23.

5. Erroneous Dipesh Chauhan is not the way forward for India U23

Naushad Moosa decided to give NorthEast United goalkeeper Dipesh Chauhan a chance to impress in the tough game against Thailand U23. Even though the 21-year-old had a good start to the game by making some sharp saves, things quickly started to go awry for him.

Chauhan made a major error leading to Thailand U23’s opening goal, as he almost diverted the free kick into the back of the net. He was outwitted for both penalties, which included a Panenka effort as well, leaving the goalkeeper embarrassed.

Chauhan’s positioning was poor for Thailand’s fourth goal, as he left too much open space to make it easy for his opponent. Dipesh hasn’t been able to prove himself as a reliable option so far. The young goalkeeper has been error-prone and sloppy with his positioning inside the box, which puts his side under unnecessary pressure.

Considering Mohanraj’s relatively better performances, Dipesh might be on his way out going forward. His substitution later in the matches insinuated the same.

4. Captain Ayush Chhetri fails in an important midfield role

Naushad Moosa opted to play Ayush Chhetri in a more advanced midfield role against Thailand U23, hoping that his physicality and tenacity could help him trouble the opposition in their half. Chhetri did have a decent shot that went wide in the first half, but he failed to impress beyond that.

The FC Goa midfielder could not drive forward with the ball, not really being able to carry it past the opposition midfielders into key positions.

He failed to create much, with several of his experimental passes or crosses returning possession to the opponents. Chhetri couldn’t really galvanize his teammates as the India U23 captain, failing to add that special spark with his application in the final third. He ended up receiving a yellow card for simulation as well.

Also Read: India U23 fall to a disappointing 4-0 loss against Thailand U23

3. Ronney Wilson outshines sloppy Sumit Sharma against the menacing Thailand onslaught

India U23 were well aware that Thailand U23 would take an attacking approach against them, as they had home advantage. With Muhammad Saheef not in the squad, Moosa gave FC Goa youngster Ronney Wilson a chance to replace him.

To his credit, Wilson did a good job on his debut for the Blue Colts. The FC Goa defender was active in and around the penalty area, often saving their team with crucial clearances, as well as winning key duels in the box.

Ronney was able to hold his own against the blistering Thailand attackers and didn’t panic like Sumit Sharma. Sharma had a pretty underwhelming game as he gave away multiple penalties due to poor decision-making and overcommitting inside the box.

At a point when Moosa is still searching for the best players for his strongest India U23 XI, Rooney’s admirable and tenacious effort against such a dangerous Thailand U23 side could have potentially helped him edge Sharma in the centre-back pecking order.

2. Mohammed Aimen shines in crisis

Even though the India U23 side was unable to score a goal against Thailand U23, there were some eye-catching attacking moments from the Blue Colts. The best pick of the bunch in the attack was definitely Mohammed Aimen, who looked to thrive under the pressure against the Thailand defenders.

Aimen craved to receive the ball on the left wing, and he constantly troubled them with speedy forward runs in the wide areas, beating his marker to get the ball into the danger zones.

Aimen failed to create a few impressive chances with his smart cut-backs and final-third passes, but was unfortunate that nobody could convert them.

Irrespective, Aimen’s energy levels and proactiveness in the match definitely caught the eye, proving that he has that fearlessness and technical quality to thrive in international football.

1. Lack of creativity hurts India’s attacking prospects

Even though the Indian backline had a bad day at the office against Thailand U23, the Blue Colts’ attack also failed to impress. A major reason for that is the sheer lack of creative brilliance in the India U23 side on the day.

Although India created some good attacking opportunities in the wide areas, their attacking methods and movements were mostly predictable.

Ayush Chhetri couldn’t create many chances in his advanced midfield role. Vinith Venkatesh looked a bit lost and was unable to score, despite showcasing decent energy levels.

Even Korou Singh had a relatively quiet game because of the tight marking placed on him. This lack of creativity held India back from really taking it to the Thailand players and testing their goalkeeper properly.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.