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#INDOMA Tactical Analysis: Where did India lose the game when they led for most of the match?

Published at :September 5, 2019 at 10:28 PM
Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM
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(Courtesy : AIFF Media)

Punit Tripathi


Lack of fitness came back to haunt the Blue Tigers in their defeat against Oman on Thursday evening.

At the final whistle, it was just about a team who had better fitness in the first World Cup qualifier, as India flattered to deceive against Oman and went down 1-2 after leading the game for majority of the stipulated time. The Indian players broke down after conceding two in the last eight minutes of regulation time to give away all three points in Guwahati on a tiring, sweaty Thursday evening.

India started the game brilliantly and it looked as if Oman were taken aback by the slick-passing, always-looking-to-play forward Indian side, who seemed to have turned a page finally and understood the game incoming manager Igor Stimac wants them to play. The team started in a dynamic 4-3-3, that kept switching to a 4-2-3-1 when Indian defenders had the ball (Ashique Kuruniyan dropped into the #10 role behind #9 Sunil Chhetri) and changed to 4-4-2 whenever they defended.

The tactics worked. Period. They did, clearly. Oman had their first major attack in the 32nd minute and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was up to the task. The timing of the Oman goals clearly showcases where India lost the game – at fitness.

Stimac had previously complained about the same and it came to bite his team real hard. The Blue Tigers looked set to steer to a famous victory, had their energies not been sapped and had Rahul Bheke been a little better in two moments of decision-making.

Make no mistake, the Bengaluru FC right-back had a pretty good game, but will still be remembered for his involvement in both goals India conceded. The first wasn’t really Bheke’s mistake, but a little more physicality in application could’ve changed the course of the match. Football, as a game in its entirety, is full of ifs and buts. For the second goal, he was beaten hands down by Al-Mandhar.

Video:- India Vs Oman Tactical Review 

Now let’s talk a little about the tactical side. With Rowlin Borges, Stimac got the physicality he wanted in his  midfield. Borges, when under no pressure, operated well and recycled possession. He hasn’t been the swiftest mover or the slickest passer in the team, but grew into the game and had a decent second half.

In fact, he played better than Anirudh Thapa with some timely interventions and some good passes to both Udanta and Chhangte (after he came on) for counter-attacking runs. Borges, though, could’ve done better at some junctures in covering the midfield as an attacks from Oman ensued.

Thapa owned Oman in the first half, single-handedly. It was him who orchestrated the midfield and was easily the best player on the pitch. The way he opened up his body to find Kuruniyan at the edge on the left side regularly was a treat to watch. He switched the play too, finding Udanta with accurate diagonals. His link-up with Kuruniyan, with Borges present too, was creating a midfield overload for Oman, who could not find a way to break it down.

If you were confused watching Udanta playing a forward pass to Bheke down the right side of the pitch, mind you, that’s a good trait of this style. Stimac allows his players to find spaces and when Udanta, who did a tremendous job back-tracking, pickpocketed an opposition player, he played it forward to Bheke, who had made some space for himself.

Kuruniyan’s diagonal runs can be very irritating for any defender and it was on display. The former Villareal trialist made those traditional lunges with his tall, burly figure regularly in the first 30 minutes and earned India’s goal. His control and willingness to put in a physical shift, is why he made it straight into the XI in place of Sahal Abdul Samad.

Yes, you read that right. Sahal wasn’t replaced by Brandon Fernandes, it was Kuruniyan. Fernandes, on the other hand, replaced Chhangte and will need to do more in the later stages of the game to be remembered. He had two delightful long balls to his name, but had nothing else to show. A lot can be expected from his relationship with Thapa, but it will have to be given time to nurture and Udanta will have to become the chief recipient of the delightful vision this pair can use.

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Coming to India’s #7 Thapa and defensive leader Sandesh Jhingan, both players form the core of the team, are irreplaceable at the moment and lack the fitness to play this highly-sapping style of football for the entire 90. If India play a knockout match anytime soon, both these players can easily get injured. They need to work on that. India need to work on that.

In totality, this was a game where India gave it all in physically, but it just wasn’t enough. They could’ve won the tie, but they did not because they could not keep up with the rigorous Oman side. Against Qatar, it will be even tougher. Let’s see how that one pans out.

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