AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: Positives and negatives from India's disappointing defeat against Bangladesh

India are winless in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Indian football team conceded another defeat in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers as they went down 1-0 against Bangladesh at the National Stadium in Dhaka. The Blue Tigers will have to wait till March next year for another opportunity to avoid the tragedy of finishing the qualifiers without a win.

Shekh Morsalin scored the decisive goal for Bangladesh to guide the hosts to a famous win. This is only the second win for Bangladesh against India in international football. With this win, Bangladesh have earned their first three points in the qualifiers, which takes their points tally to five points.

In this article, we will look at the positives and negatives of India’s performance against Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Positives

Sanan brought life to this game

Mohammed Sanan was the only positive for India from the defeat at Dhaka. The visitors were looking clueless going forward, but Sanan’s arrival changed things for India to an extent. The Jamshedpur FC winger came with a purpose, and he was the driving force for India after his substitution.

It is evident from this short stint against Bangladesh that Khalid Jamil has to bring more young faces into his attack to shuffle things. Relying on the same old faces has not produced results. The attacking players from the U23 set up are the way forward.

Also Read: India vs Bangladesh Player Ratings: Sanan impresses; Rahul Bheke & Rahim Ali disappoint

Negatives

Conservative team selection

Khalid Jamil doesn’t seem to be taking lessons from his mistakes. He again fielded a side that played with a conservative approach. The Indian head coach went with players like Rahul Bheke, who have consistently faltered in the recent matches.

Not trusting the new players to do the job is hurting India’s chances. He has introduced some young faces into the squad, but bench-warming should not be their job on national duty. The former Jamshedpur FC has to take bold calls to actually push India down the path of transition.

Poor Substitutions

Another aspect of the game where Khalid Jamil missed the bus is the substitutions. Besides Sanan’s substitutions, which should have been a no-brainer, his other substitutions lacked x-factor. One of the most surprising substitutions was of Nikhil Prabhu.

Prabhu was the only player in the midfield in the first half who seemed to have any control. But he subbed him off, which killed India’s chances of gaining superiority in the midfield. The Indian head coach has been missing the trick for the last few matches, and that has resulted in one loss after another for India.

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