AFC Asian Cup: Bold Selection Calls and the Ever-dependable Chhetri Help Register Historic Win Against Thailand

The leader led from the front with absolute nonchalance, the youth turned on the style and the Sniper hit the bull’s eye as India announced their arrival at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Poor Thailand bore the brunt and clearly hadn’t braced for it.

An unwanted piece of history needed fixing and fixed it was by Stephen Constantine’s India as they dominated Thailand to beat them 4-1 to register their first win the competition in 55 years and the first against Thailand in over three decades.

India started off proceedings on the night and were disciplined and cautious for major parts of the first half. A moment of quick thinking from Sunil Chhetri and Ashique Kuruniyan opened up Thailand before they grew into the game.

India managed to lead six minutes to start with before the War Elephants raised their game to leave the Indian midfield chasing shadows; that, coupled with poor marking inside the penalty box saw both sides go into the water break on level terms.

What happened at half-time in the Indian dressing room remains a mystery for now, but the resulting intensity that was shown by the Blue Tigers left Thailand rattled while the jaws of plenty of Indian fans hit their desks in amazement.

Chhetri Undoubtedly the Leader of the Pack

The Indian team feeds off the energy and quick thinking of their talismanic striker. A lot of the pre-match talk was centred around Chhetri not getting the captain’s armband, but that, if anything, probably spurred him on more; not that he needs new ways to motivate himself.

Chhetri was once again the cynosure of everything in attack for India. From the quick throw to pick out Ashique, to the routine with Udanta Singh for the second goal that they would have practiced a million times, and finally releasing Udanta once again for him to run at Thailand’s defense and open up space for the third; Chhetri, like has been the case for the last decade or so, was key to India’s attacking prowess.

Captain or not, the team depends heavily and will continue to do so on India’s all-time highest goal scorer to adjust, reinvent and quite literally drive the team forward. Having had a feel of what this stage feels like in 2011, Chhetri the senior statesman will have to be as much a calming influence as a game changer in the days to come.

Bold Team Selection

For all the brickbats that Stephen Constantine had been subjected to in the build-up, his calls against Thailand were spot on in what was a make or break match for his side. The Englishman made a big call in leaving out Jeje for the dynamic youngster Ashique, and it was as if the missing piece of the puzzle had been found. The FC Pune City man ran his heart out at the Al Nahyan Stadium, and most importantly was the perfect foil for Chhetri.

Along with Ashique, the rest of the attacking options – Udanta, Anirudh Thapa and eventually Jeje also came to the party as they pegged Thailand into their own half. Constantine’s direct approach paid off against a more patient style of playing.

While the defense and the midfield more or less picked themselves from the available resources, the response by Ashique when called up to the big stage was heartening to see, as was the hunger that Jeje displayed late on as a substitute.

Defensive Frailties

The performance against Thailand is one to be remembered and celebrated irrespective of how the rest of the tournament pans out. But, it was the second part of the first half which will have the team coaches a little worried as the defensive organisation seemed to be missing.

For the goal that India conceded, the defense was left ball watching as a pinpoint delivery found the target and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu could do nothing after being stranded in no man’s land.

The decision to pack the midfield to protect the likes of Sandesh Jhingan and Anas Edathodika was expected and the likes of Pranoy Halder and Thapa will have to be careful as future opponents, technically better and stronger, will punish them severely.

This though is a far cry from the scorelines in 2011, when they defense shipped goals aplenty and even the opponents aren’t of the same quality as then holding tight at the back will be key for India’s progression.

Constantine will look to sort out the defensive problems as fast as he can because UAE on the 10th and Bahrain on the 14th, currently lagging behind India on points, will leave no stone unturned in their hunt for big wins.

Round of 16 Hopes

India sit in a strong position atop Group A with a +3 goal difference after UAE and Bahrain played out a 1-1 draw on the opening day.

In this expanded 24 team tournament, eight will drop out after the first round and the top two teams from each of the six groups will progress along with four of the best third placed sides.

As Chhetri and Constantine have both said, it is important to not get carried away by this performance and must quickly shift focus to the next game as automatic qualification for the round of 16 could still go anyway.

India’s next games are against technically stronger opponents and while teams will be forced to account for the attackers, Constantine will have to ensure that defensively they are strong as that could be the source of points against UAE and Bahrain.

India’s near perfect performance against Thailand has put the spotlight firmly on the attackers and on the Asian Cup, from the point of view of Indian fans, for all the right reasons.

A very heartwarming beginning to 2019 for all Indian football fans.