Top 3 Indian players from Brazil & Uruguay friendlies
Blue Tigers conceded 10 goals in two games against Brazil & Uruguay
The honeymoon period of Indian football, its players, its federation and its fans, where the Blue Tigers played three high-profile international friendlies against World Cup-playing nations during the September–October international window, has finally come to an end with a disappointing defeat in Kolkata.
While the Blue Tigers started the run with a positive 1–1 draw against Panama, which gave the fans plenty of hope going into the Brazil game, the results in the two games against Brazil and Uruguay did not go their way. Although the performance against five-time World Cup champions Brazil was very decent and India lost by just a four-goal margin, the defeat against Uruguay was heartbreaking.
Despite conceding early, India fought back and scored a huge goal to level the scoreline, but there was a pause in the game following that due to lightning concerns around the stadium. That, along with Khalid Jamil’s substitutions ahead of the second half, completely shattered India’s momentum and disrupted the team’s shape, eventually leading to four second-half goals as the Blue Tigers ended up losing 6–1.
Despite these defeats at the Salt Lake Stadium, there were plenty of moments and individual performances to cherish for the Blue Tigers. Tekcham Abhishek Singh’s individual battle against Vinicius, Sahal’s nutmeg on Douglas Santos, some of the build-up plays against Brazil, and Thapa’s goal against Uruguay– the highs that fans would have experienced from these moments were priceless despite the losses.
Leaving the negatives aside, let’s take a moment to look at the three players who did impress for India in the recent two friendlies against Brazil and Uruguay.
Top 3 Indian players from Brazil & Uruguay friendlies:
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Anwar Ali
Although India conceded four against Brazil and six against Uruguay across the 180 minutes played, there was one player who stood tall in the defensive line of the Blue Tigers while those around him were consistently making mistakes and leaving too much space for the opposition attackers.
In the absence of Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali stepped up and proved why he is the leader of this defence with his impressive performances. Barring the second goal Brazil scored when Pedro ran behind India’s high line, Anwar was pretty much solid in both games with his positioning, blocks, recoveries and interceptions. If not for Anwar, India could have conceded even more goals at the back.
Also Read: Uruguay vs India Player Ratings: Cardozo makes debut blunder; Nunez, Araujo impress
Not just his defensive abilities, he also impressed everyone with his ability to play out from the back. Even against some of the world’s best defenders, Anwar maintained his composure on the ball and made sure he continued to play out from the back. His long balls and diagonal passes created huge spaces for the Indian wingers in attack.
One would hope that India’s best and most technically gifted defender, Anwar, would catch the eye of some scouts from European teams and could make a move to the continent in the near future, both to improve his game and open a pathway for Indian players to move abroad.
Anirudh Thapa
Prior to this international window, Khalid Jamil had tried several options in the box-to-box midfield role to play alongside Apuia, Nikhil Prabhu or Jeakson Singh, depending on who was available to play the number six role. Macarton was tried, Suresh Singh was tried, Ricky Shabong was tried, Anwar Ali was tried, and even a striker like Farukh Choudhary was used by Khalid Jamil over the past 12 months.
However, Anirudh Thapa has laid down a marker with his performances and shown that he is here to nail down that position for himself. Although he did not start against Panama, his performances against Brazil and Uruguay were really impressive.
For a player who has been in and out of the national team over the last few windows, these are the kind of performances that could seal his spot permanently in the national team set-up.
In the Brazil game, despite playing against a Brazilian team that featured some of the finest midfielders in Europe and America, Thapa made several crucial interceptions to cut out crosses and break up plays while maintaining a passing percentage of over 90%.
Against Uruguay, although India’s defensive shape collapsed in the second half, Thapa played a key role alongside Apuia in expanding the pitch, spreading the ball out and attacking from the wings rather than relying solely on long balls.
He also scored India’s only goal against Uruguay, becoming the first Indian player in almost 44 years to score against Uruguay.
Ryan Williams
If there was one man in the Indian national team who could proudly look up and say that he did his best in the three games against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay, it could be none other than the one and only Ryan Williams, who would still humbly say that he could have done better.
At 32 years of age, almost 33, he ran his socks off in every game while pressing the opposition defenders relentlessly in an attempt to win the ball back. He scored a big goal against Panama to give India the lead, created numerous chances in the final third against Brazil and carried the same momentum into the Uruguay game.
In fact, it was his shot that was fumbled by the Uruguayan goalkeeper, allowing Anirudh Thapa to pounce and equalise for the Blue Tigers.
He was deployed on the right wing at times, through the middle at other moments and even as a false nine, but irrespective of the position he played, he looked miles ahead of the other Indian attackers in terms of quality.
His combination play with Manvir, the runs he consistently made behind the opposition defence, his crosses from the flanks and the fouls he won in the final third, I speak for everyone when I say we are blessed to have this man in the national team and should always be thankful to him for making the big decision to give up his Australian passport.
Hopefully, he can continue to have at least another good four to five years with the national team and potentially take the Blue Tigers back to the AFC Asian Cup.
What was the result in India’s game against Brazil?
India’s friendly against Brazil in Kolkata ended in a 4-0 loss for the Blue Tigers.
What was the result in India’s game against Uruguay?
Despite trailing by just one goal at the HT break, India ended up losing 6-1 against Uruguay at the Salt Lake Stadium.
Who scored for India against Uruguay?
Anirudh Thapa scored India’s only goal against Uruguay, becoming the first Indian in almost 44 years to score against Uruguay.
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