'Disappointed, angry' – Coach Manolo Marquez lashes out after India's draw against Bangladesh

India's 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Final Round campaign got off to a worrying start as they were held to a goalless draw by a lower-ranked Bangladesh at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Tuesday.

Despite a strong home support, the Blue Tigers struggled on the pitch. 

They did not have the best of starts to the match with goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, making a massive error less than ten seconds into the match. India were fortunate that Bangladesh could not convert from a tight angle in the very first minute.

Kaith made two more major blunders in front of the goal with defender Subhashish Bose making amends on both occasions to ensure the goalkeeper walked away with a clean sheet to boast of.

There were chances missed in front of the goal as well with the likes of Farukh Choudhary, Udanta Singh, and Sunil Chhetri all failing to make the most of their opportunities inside the box.

Chhetri, who was called up to resolve India's scoring struggles, had a good chance to put India in drivers seat in the 84th minute when Naorem Mahesh Singh found him with a good pass, but failed to make most of it.

He sank to the floor in disappointment before being substituted.

Coach Manolo Marquez was not impressed by India's below par show in the match. He did not mince his words in the post match interview, holding the mirror up to his players.

"When you enter the game and you concede the chance you did within five seconds...," started Manolo referring to Kaith's horror. "Practically I don't want to speak much.

"I am very angry, disappointed with everyone. I do not have words for this poor performance.

"Liston was a positive on the left side but it was not enough. This is not enough. Maybe this is the reality of Indian football," he added.

Manolo further elaborated on his outburst in the press conference after the match.

“If you ask me, maybe today is the most difficult press conference in my career because I don't want to say all the things that are in my head in this moment," he said.

"We played a bad game and that's all. In the second half we tried, but not enough."