Field Vision

India’s chase for the elusive win continues as Syria thumped the hosts 3-0 to lift the Intercontinental Cup 2024 title at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday evening. The Blue Tigers desperately needed a win following their disappointing stalemate against Mauritius on the opening night but they fell way short of their target. 

Head coach Manolo Marquez made some changes to the team from the last match, most of which unfortunately backfired for the Spaniard. India struggled in midfield and defence as Syrians ran riot with their guile and panache. Mahmoud Al-Aswad handed them the lead in the seventh minute followed by second-half goals from Daleho Irandust and substitute Pablo Sabbag. The hosts had their moments but they lacked quality in attack.

Here are the talking points from the match:

A massive lack of stability in the midfield

There’s hardly any dearth of talent in midfield for the Blue Tigers as Manolo decided to play Jeakson Singh and Suresh Wangjam in the pivot with Sahal Abdul Samad playing in the hole behind Manvir Singh against Syria.

While the planning was apt from Manolo, the execution was way off from his players. Both Suresh and Jeakson struggled to keep up with the intensity of their Syrian counterparts. It forced Sahal to drop deep in midfield, leaving Manvir isolated up top. There was no balance in midfield for India for the majority of the first half as they failed to retain possession. 

Things improved in the second half with the arrival of Apuia. But the Blue Tigers desperately need someone who can regularly win the ball back and recycle possession whilst playing with a lot of guile. 

A better second-half performance

The scoreline of this match doesn’t do justice to the fight that the Blue Tigers showed, especially in the second half. In fact, India even ended the first half on a high and started the second 45 minutes with great intensity. The likes of Sahal and Lallianzuala Chhangte created trouble for the Syrian defenders as the latter was wasteful in front of goal. 

Later when Manolo brought in players like Edmund, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Liston Colaco, India showed great flair in attack and kept bombarding the Syrian penalty area with some good deliveries. After the game, the Spanish tactician even admitted that he was satisfied with the second-half performance and will look to build on it in the upcoming matches. 

Should Edmund Lalrindika get more gametime?

In the past, we have seen coaches ignore players from the I-League and the norm has continued even in Manolo’s era. However, Edmund Lalrindika is a name who has proven his mettle for Inter Kashi in recent times and despite showing glimpses of his talent when he is given some chance, the youngster is always sidelined in the next game. 

He is currently the only player from the I-League to be in the Indian squad. Even against Syria after coming on in the 77th minute, he brought much-needed intensity which the Blue Tigers lacked in attack. He is fleet-footed and has a level head on his shoulders, giving him more gametime will only help India in the long run. 

Missing cohesion in the backline

After a drab draw against Mauritius, Manolo reverted to Anwar Ali and Subhasish Bose in the backline. However, things didn’t turn out the way the Spaniard expected. Despite having all the experience under his belt, Bose struggled to keep up with the pace of Mahmoud Al-Aswad and Daleho Irandust, who at times toyed with the Mohun Bagan Super Giant skipper. Bose failed to maintain possession as Syria kept attacking India’s left flank. 

Anwar Ali is easily one of the sought-after names in Indian football right now. The young defender grabbed headlines in recent months following his controversial switch from Mohun Bagan Super Giant to East Bengal FC in the summer transfer window. However, he returned to football after some time and looked far from his best. The youngster was caught napping on some occasions. Apart from some long-ranged passes, Anwar was nowhere near his best on the night. 

The sheer lack of goals!

Scoring goals has been an Achilles heel for the Indian football team. The Blue Tigers have now scored only two goals in this calendar year, and that too came in defeats against Afghanistan and Kuwait. While the retirement of India’s record goalscorer – Sunil Chhetri has not helped the team, players like Manvir, Chhangte, Liston, Nandha and others have failed to fill that void. 

They created some exciting chances against Syria aswell but the forwards were extremely wasteful in the final third. Also, Manolo should look past Manvir in a single-striker formation as his positioning and instincts leave a lot to be desired. He is more suited to a wider role than playing alone upfront. 

What’s next?

The players will return to their clubs with the Indian Super League starting later this weekend. Manolo will switch roles and focus on his FC Goa job but the Spaniard will have an eye on the players who are doing well across the league. The Blue Tigers will be in action again in October when they will travel to Vietnam for the Three-Nation tournament, featuring hosts Vietnam and Lebanon.