U23 Tri-Nation International Friendly Tournament: Final third struggles and other talking points from India U-23 vs Bhutan U-23

India defeated Bhutan 5-0 in a thrilling encounter

The India U-23 Football Team registered a dominating 5-0 victory against the Bhutan U-23 Football team on the 28th of March 2026 as a part of their Tri-Nations Cup fixture held at the Golden Jubilee Stadium, Yupia.

In the first-half, the Blue Colts pressed high from the first minute as they kept creating chances courtesy of Suhail, Adison, Lalthankima, Fanai and Ronney. But despite the players giving their best to find the back of the net, they were unsuccessful in doing so as they struggled to finish.

The breakthrough came in the 43rd minute, when Ricky Meetei scored a long-range goal to break the deadlock. Suhail doubled the delight for the Blue Colts in the second half by tapping in the ball from Adison Singh.

Tomba Singh made it 3-0 by deploying a powerful screamer from distance before Suhail scored his brace just within a minute. In the final minutes of the game, Ajsal marked the nail in the coffin by scoring the fifth goal and putting the game to bed.

Here are the talking points of the Tri-Nation series match between India U23 and Bhutan U-23.

Aggressive attacks, zero output in first half

The Blue Colts displayed nothing more than sheer domination over the Bhutan U-23 side. They were very aggressive in the offensive phase and kept knocking on the Bhutanese doors at regular intervals.

However, despite these continuous attacks, the scoreline at half-time remained marginal as India failed to convert their chances. Everything looked exceptional for the Blue Colts until they came to the final third, where they lacked finishing.

Suhail got the first chance of the match when Lalthankima provided a carpet pass to Suhail from the right, which the striker shockingly missed. Later, Suhail provided a good ball to Lalthankima, the player sent wide. Again, Adison Singh took a dipping shot from the right wing, which, to his dismay, hit the crossbar.

The second half saw Fanai make a brilliant run from the right, only to miss the goal by inches. Ajsal had his share of chances, but yet again struggled as he came near the goal.

Throughout the match, multiple chances were crafted by Ebindas, Fanai, Adison, Suhail and Lalthankima, but somewhere down the line, it felt like the players were missing their scoring boots.

Ricky, Suhail, Tomba and Ajsal find their name on the score sheet

Following multiple struggles to find the ball in the back of the net and break the deadlock of the match, the Blue Colts finally registered the opener of the match in the 43rd minute, courtesy of Ricky.

Lalthankima moved forward with the ball on the left flank before providing it to Fanai, who passed the ball to his Bengaluru FC teammate Ricky.

Ricky controlled the ball well before taking a shot from outside the box, which rolled into the back of the net, leaving the keeper just as a spectator to provide India with the advantage.

In the second half, Adison made a dribble from the left before passing the ball into the six-yard box, where Suhail was present. The latter had to just tap in the ball to extend the advantage for the Blue Colts.

In the 79th minute, the debutant, Tomba Singh, scored a screamer from distance to make it 3-0 and just minutes later, Suhail made an accelerated run and shot from the right to secure his brace.

In the 86th minute, Suhail provided a lofted ball to Ajsal, who scored the fifth goal of the day.

One-way traffic

In the first-half, the match was mostly a one-sided affair as India U23 controlled a large chunk of the possession of the game. The match was so dominated by India that the first real chance for Bhutan in the Indian box came in the 36th minute, through a corner kick.

The team registered just one shot on target, which, however, was just a routine save for the keeper.

Hence, the defensive unit moved higher up the pitch and even ventured deep into the final third to help the team in the offensive part. Notably, the opener of the match was scored by Haobam Ricky Meetei, who initially came in as a full-back.

However, as the game progressed, the player was instructed to play as an attacking full back, which led to him breaking the deadlock of the match.

Gametime correlated with the performance

One of the primary reasons why the players were seen struggling to convert their efforts into goals was arguably the lack of gametime in the recent past.

A few months ago, Naushad Moosa expressed his concerns about the lack of game time, and around seven players in the squad had zero minutes of playing time in the ISL.

The other players, who made appearances for their clubs in the ISL, were not regular starters and had just a few minutes of game time. This lack of consistent minutes and a competitive environment to play around cost the Blue Colts adversely.

Only when the game approached the second half were Suhail and the other players able to get a proper momentum of the game, and this was evident with the team’s performance, as in the second half, the Blue Colts came in with much more vigour and scored four goals in quick succession.

Ajsal, on the other hand, who has had consistent minutes, playing in the Super League Kerala, Santosh Trophy and as a starter for Kerala Blasters FC, scored a goal within minutes of coming into the pitch and even crafted some key chances.

This showed a positive correlation between the minutes played and the player’s performance.

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