India were held to a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their first match of the competition despite playing against 10-man for majority of the second half.
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India will take on Sri Lanka in their second match of 2021 SAFF Championship on Thursday at the Maldives National Football Stadium. After a disappointing 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their opening match, the Blue Tigers will be desperate to get their first win of the competition against an out of form Sri Lankan side who have lost both of their fixtures in the competition so far. Against the Bengal Tigers, India should have won the match comfortably considering that they played against 10-man for majority of the second half.
However, despite taking the lead through Sunil Chhetri in the first half, Igor stimac’s side faltered in the second and conceded in the 74th minute through Yeasin Arafat’s header. The Blue Tigers failed to create too many clear cut chances while Bangladesh defended well with a man less and threatened the Indian defence with quick counter attacks.
The Croatian tactician Stimac has come under a lot of criticism for team India’s failure to win enough matches in the recent past therefore he will be under the scanner on Thursday. Bangladesh played with a 4-1-4-1 defensive formation and India found it difficult to penetrate through their defence on a consistent basis. India is the favourite to win the competition and the seven time champions are likely to face similar tactics from the other teams also. Therefore Stimac needs to deploy a more attack minded line-up with a bit of creativity to secure positive results.
Sahal Abdul Samad could be brought in alongside Brandon Fernandes in the midfield. Sahal is an exceptionally talented individual who is not afraid to take on defenders while Brandon is very good with his attacking passes. Stimac could opt for a 4-3-3 formation with Liston Colaco and Udanta Singh pushed further forward with Sahal and Brandon in the midfield and Glan Martins deployed as the defensive midfielder.
Indian captain Chhetri who scored his 76th international goal in the previous match is just one shy of the iconic Pele in terms of international goals scored. It would be a great opportunity for the 37-year-old forward to scale yet another landmark in his career on Thursday against Sri Lanka. But he will need support from his teammates if they are to earn three points from the game.
The Indian defence looked a bit unsettled against Bangladesh as they were opened up quite often. Central defenders Rahul Bheke and Chinglensana Singh haven’t played too many matches together and will need to develop better understanding as soon as possible.
The Blue Tigers committed a lot of mistakes in the previous game and one of their main objectives would be to avoid unforced errors in the form of missed passes which allowed the opposition to have a go at them.
After the disappointment against Bangladesh, Stimac said “we are ourselves guilty for not winning the match.”
“We had everything in control, we dominated the game, and had a one-nil advantage, and even had a one-man advantage.
“But despite all of that, for some unknown reasons, we started giving away simple passes, making unnecessary mistakes. And if you boost the confidence of your opponent, that’s how it finishes when you give them a chance,” Stimac said.
