Three lessons learnt from India U23's defeat against Thailand U23

Multiple players made their debut for India U23 on Saturday.

India U23 suffered a disappointing 4-0 defeat to Thailand U23 in the international friendly clash on Saturday. The Blue Colts conceded two goals apiece in either half and failed to score any goals, marking only the second time they’ve not been able to score in a game in the Naushad Moosa era.

It was a frustrating outing for the Indian side that conceded goals because of poor decision-making and failed to really produce any kind of threat in the attacking sense. Moosa will, however, need to learn from some of the shortcomings of his side in the game and try to prepare them to put in a stronger effort next time they play an international fixture. Moving further in this article, we will look at three lessons learnt from the India U23 vs Thailand U23 clash.

3. No creativity in the midfield

The India U23 side created a few chances against Thailand U23, but were mostly toothless in destabilising the opposition’s backline. The Blue Colts were not able to create as many major scoring chances as necessary in the opposition half at all, mostly because of the uninspiring game from the midfielders.

Ayush Chhetri failed to create much in an advanced midfield role, and his set-piece delivery was also quite disappointing. Vinith Venkatesh also had a poor game, struggling in the central areas as well. The India U23 side needs more creative players in the midfield areas for them to be able to outwit opposition players against such challenging opponents.

The Blue Colts need more players like Vibin Mohanan, who was benched against Thailand U23, but someone who can pull the strings and guide his teammates into the key open areas in the final third. Unless they have more innovative ideas in the final third, India U23 won’t be able to score many past tough opponents like Thailand U23.

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

2. Experiments come back to haunt India U23

Naushad Moosa decided to introduce quite a few new faces to his India U23 side as compared to his teams from the last few games. Rooney Wilson was introduced into the backline alongside Raj Basfore, while Alan Saji spearheaded the frontline.

Even Vinit Venkatesh was brought in a relatively unfamiliar role, with Naushad Moosa looking to try out some different variations to his side’s playing style. Unfortunately, it ended up blowing in his face.

The defensive changes particularly hurt the Indian set-up, with the Blue Colts being surprisingly sloppy and error-prone at the back. The absence of some key names in the team did have an impact on India’s attacking capabilities. This extensive overhaul of the side came back to haunt Moosa. However, the coach did not have any alternative either with many of his first team players moving to the senior team.

1. Suhail Bhat is vital to keep India firing

Suhail Bhat wasn’t available for selection, and his absence was an Achilles heel for India. Naushad Moosa opted to play young Alan Saji in his place as the number nine.

Well, the slump in terms of quality and sheer threat of the Indian frontline was evident. Alan Saji had a poor outing against Thailand U23, with the youngster not being able to help with the link-up play in India’s attacking moves. He was bullied by the opposition defenders and failed to position himself to convert the chances..

Saji lacked the killer instinct or unpredictability that Suhail possesses. It’s clear that the Mohun Bagan forward is the glue that keeps the Indian attacking force ticking in Moosa’s system. Bhat’s physicality, ability to help free up teammates and excellent finishing skills are vital for the Indian frontline to take the fight to any challenging opposition

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