Three things Manolo Marquez should change ahead of crucial Hong Kong match

The Indian football team failed in a friendly test against Thailand recently.

Manolo Marquez led India suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to Thailand in their dress rehearsal before the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2025 qualifier against Hong Kong. The Blue Tigers were held to a 0-0 draw in their first qualifier and are now heading into the clash against a tough Hong Kong side without any solid momentum.

The Blue Tigers’ recent loss to Thailand should be a wake-up call to Manolo Marquez, urging him to make some necessary changes to the team. Be it tweaking certain tactics within the team or making personnel changes in the line-up, the Spanish gaffer needs to change certain aspects of his team to drive them to success against Hong Kong.

Here we look at the three things Marquez should change ahead of the Hong Kong clash.

3. Drop Ayush Chhetri

The Ayush Chhetri experiment just isn’t working for the India set-up. The young midfielder has clearly impressed the Spanish gaffer with his development at FC Goa, earning him a place in the India national team set-up. Chhetri, however, does not look like a solid fit for the intense international matches yet.

The 22-year-old has looked out of place in the Indian team in his two appearances so far, with his recent performance against Thailand being especially scrappy. Chhetri is struggling to neutralise the opponents’ movement through central channels and can’t seem to regularly win back the ball in key areas either. He has struggled to protect his backline, causing defenders to often be dragged out of their natural positions and exposing India’s backline.

Chhetri might’ve had a solid 2024-25 season with FC Goa, but he can’t seem to grasp the quickness of international matches yet and has struggled with his distribution, too. It’ll only be smart for Marquez to drop the young midfielder and opt to play a more experienced member like Suresh Singh, who can add more steel and reliability to India’s midfield line.

2. Start Brandon Fernandes and Lallianzuala Chhangte

For India to take the fight to Hong Kong in their upcoming qualifier, they will need to pick their most promising attacking talents. If Marquez wants a clinical attacking performance, then he will need to bring back Brandon Fernandes as well as Lallianzuala Chhangte into his starting XI.

Fernandes remains the most creative figure in the Indian squad, as he’s particularly capable of troubling opponents with his excellent crosses from set pieces or clever final through balls to send teammates through on goal.

Chhangte has that ‘X-factor’ about him, being able to move forward confidently with the ball and also cut into central channels to cause mayhem. Chhangte is also an impressive finisher who can convert chances from a variety of positions. His unpredictability can really hurt Hong Kong.

1. Add more bodies in the midfield

Manolo Marquez experimented with a unique 4-4-2 formation in the loss to Thailand, which ultimately ended up hurting the Indian side more than helping them. This was because the Blue Tigers were horribly understaffed in the midfield, with Chhetri and Lalengmawia Ralte often being forced to keep up with three or more Thailand players.

India were repeatedly overrun in the midfield, losing duels and allowing the Thailand side to easily penetrate through the central areas into the final third. Marquez cannot afford to give the same kind of freedom to Hong Kong, because it might bring similarly disastrous results.

The Spaniard has to change his formation to accommodate more players in the midfield. A tweak into a 4-3-3 can be ideal, as he could bring in an extra midfielder like Nikhil Prabhu to sit in front of the backline to destroy opposition attacks and add more steel in the midfield. India need to box their midfield with multiple players to gain control of their game against Hong Kong and not allow the hosts to dictate the tempo.

Adding another body to the midfield can also allow India to gain more possession, take their time in stitching together innovative attacking moves and help them be more resolute against Hong Kong’s counter-attacks as well.

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