Areas Indian football team should focus on at the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

While head coach Igor Stimac asserts full confidence in his men that would comfortably qualify, we, at The Bridge identified certain pivotal areas of focus that have been hindering prosperity.

Over-dependency on Sunil Chhetri

As talismanic as Captain Sunil Chhetri is, it is to be recorded that Sunil Chhetri is ageing, and the scoring prowess of the prolific forward is decreasing with time. However, it cannot be denied that the skipper has come to the aid of the Blue Tigers every single time. While scoring only one goal in two games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the SAFF Championships 2021, India was nearing elimination, it was Sunil Chhetri who came to the rescue. He scored in the next matches taking India to the finals where India beat Nepal 3-0 to clinch the trophy. Evidently, the team lacking in attacking advances unless Sunil Chettri turns up is a situation to worry about.

Manvir Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad's failure to replicate club form

The lack of consistent goalscorers is a byproduct of India's insufficient footballing structure and thus the national team is in the need of a Plan B now more than ever. Kerala Blasters FC youngster Sahal Abdul Samad and ATK Mohun Bagan Forward Manvir Singh together were essentially identified as the ones to carry forward the attacking legacy after Sunil Chhetri, however, both the players are yet to prove the same in the Indian jersey despite having proven their worth in the club outfits. Manvir has produced only five goals and one assist in 31 games for the national team while Sahal has scored only one goal in 16 appearances. The able youngsters are yet to replicate Chhetri's consistency in the club and national attires. On the note of positivity, Sahal can overturn the attacking woes for India if the scorer is fed with proper balls.

A stale lineup and unmeaningful changes

Igor Stimac's choice of players in the starting eleven has always been subjected to a lot of criticism as it remained unchanged despite not bringing desired positive results. While Igor Stimac has handed out debuts to a lot of players, he has not been seen to have given them regular game time. Stimac's decision of not including I-league players has been criticised heavily as well, as the domestic league boasts of young talents and national stints can add to the benefit of their scoring spree. Stimac's idea of playing defensive football even against weaker sides, end up with India losing some points by a stalemate, as the creativity in the attacking midfield is limited. A lack of ball-playing defenders has hurt the national team heavily in terms of moving forward as well as defence, while the problem seems to have found its solution in former Minerva Academy player Anwar Ali being called up to the squad.

How Igor Stimac can chalk out the Starting XI?

Despite coach Igor Stimac and the players being criticised for the string of poor performances, the problems are deep-rooted. With a short domestic calendar of only as many as twenty games in the Indian Super League, the players lack regular game time to stay in form and shape. If the number of the teams in the league increases making it to at least 30-35 match days along with mandatory participation in the pre-season tournament as it has been announced will provide beneficial results for the players as well as for the national team. Playing more international friendlies would add to the cause.

With the camp being hit with injury, and players like Rahul Bheke Ritwik Das being set to miss the games, Stimac still possesses a plethora of young resources that if used properly will bring wonderful results for the team. Stimac can field a starting XI featuring Gurpreet Singh Sandhu under the sticks followed by Pritam Kotal, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, and Subasish Bose in front. Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Singh, and Anirudh Thapa can essentially form the midfield trio while along with Ashique Kuruniyan on the left and Liston Colaco on the right, Sunil Chhetri can lead the line. Players like Akash Mishra, Roshan Singh, and Ishan Pandita can be introduced later adding some fresh legs and minimizing the aforementioned issues.

The lineup consisting of a good ratio of young players along with veterans would boast of a balanced game, with the youngsters bringing in pace and agility while older ones bring in their experience of a high voltage game. Players like Anwar Ali and Roshan Singh, with the ability to deal with dead-ball situations, and Ali's freekicks can add to the advantages of the team. While the agile midfielders Anirudh Thapa and Suresh Singh can provide important balls to Sahal Abdul Samad and Chhetri while the former turns feeder in need. The wings will be quite eventful as well being operated by Ashique Kuruniyan and Liston Colaco who tirelessly keep on testing the opponent custodian.