In classic Indian football fashion, the last Asian Cup qualifier match that the country was a part of ended in a gut-wrenching loss, but then two wins over high-ranked opponents Tajikistan and Oman in the CAFA Cup seemed to have papered over that poor result. Since that loss to Hong Kong at the Kai Tak Stadium in May, a beleaguered Spaniard exited the national stage, and an Indian manager, who has quietly been chipping away at the I-League and then the ISL, ascended to become the national team boss.
When India step out at the National Stadium in Singapore on Thursday, they find themselves in an all too familiar situation, with their backs against the wall and qualification to the AFC Asian Cup on the line. Ranked the highest in their group, India drew their opening match at home to Bangladesh, and then suffered that 0-1 loss to Hong Kong and are sitting dead last in their group with one solitary point from two games.
That India continues its Jekyll and Hyde routine isn’t new. But results like the CAFA Cup tend to fade away, if important, and crucially, winnable games aren’t won. And therein lies Khalid Jamil’s first real test.
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They now face Singapore twice in the space of five days – and need to win on both occasions to keep their qualification campaign in their own hands. Only the group winners qualify for the Asian Cup, and in case of similar points, head-to-head records come into play. Which is why goals and wins, however they come, are what’s the need of the hour.
Same, old crisis
Despite the positive results at the CAFA Cup, the issues that have plagued the national team over the past two years continue. Open play goals are still hard to find. But hints of how India will play against Singapore, lie in the way they played in Tajikistan. The national team turned into a goal threat from set pieces after not being threatening on a football pitch for over two years. The two goals against Tajikistan came from the Indian centre back pairing of Sandesh Jhinghan and Anwar Ali, both of whom are available for Jamil tomorrow. Another Jamil special was the team starting off very strongly. Both of India’s goals came within the first 15 minutes, and even in games where the team was unable to find a goal, the intent to start off strong was clear to see.
Jamil still insists that India will play according to the ‘situation’. The situation in this case is obviously an away game. Getting a goal and shutting shop will be the ideal situation the Indian coach would want to find his team in. “Depending on the situation, if we have to rely on set plays then we will. This is an important game. We are playing an away game and have to be very careful,” he said to reporters in Singapore on Wednesday.
Interestingly, Jamil confirmed that Sunil Chhetri will be in the mix for India. The Indian captain, who retired and then unretired earlier this year, will be part of an Indian team whose gameplay he recognises. Under Igor Stimac, and then under Manolo Marquez, the striker was often asked to play with his back to goal. But Chhetri’s best performances have often come as a poacher in the box, or when he has made a run into the box. Against Singapore, the way India now plays might work for the workhorse.
No domestic games has also meant that India has had to rely on the games they played at the CAFA Cup, and the two training camps between the tournament. Match practice has been hard to come by, and most teams released players late for the camp. “We trained for close to 20 days before the CAFA Cup, and then trained for another 10-15 days to prepare for the Singapore game,” said attacker Vikram Pratap Singh.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
