Challenges galore for the Blue Tigers come SAFF Championship after unimpressive show against Nepal in friendlies

For teams separated by more than 60 spots in the FIFA rankings, a more-or-less one-sided affair was on the cards, but nothing panned out as per as expected for the Blue Tigers. Rather, the much-fancied visitors were subject to constant threat at the Dasharath Stadium, over the course of two matches, with the vociferous fans not helping their cause. Meanwhile, Nepal utilized the occasion to the fullest and gained some precious game time ahead of their SAFF Championships campaign, which takes place next month.

Let’s take the example of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers – where India was pitted alongside two lower-ranked teams – Bangladesh and Afghanistan, matches in which the Indians were supposed to fetch points. Out of the four matches (home and away), India managed to win only one and split points in the rest of the fixtures. With all the investments and exposure thrown into the system, the returns are not even average, I’m afraid we're still stuck in the bottom layers.

It was only at the stroke of the hour mark that a long ranger from Sunil Chhetri, which was saved by the custodian, rolled back into play, while Anirudh Thapa tapped it in from handshaking distance of the target. The Blue Tigers did put up a better show in the second game, creating a lot of openings for themselves in the first period, but failed to get past the goalie. Even though Farukh Choudhary netted the first goal in the 62nd minute, Nepal stepped up the pedal even further following that.

What struck disappointing was the manner in which India escaped to victory, failing to register a convincing one. On paper, India does remain unbeaten in the tour, but, just edging past the team which is loitering in the bottom half of the FIFA rankings, doesn’t paint a favourable picture. India is arguably the best team in the South Asian region (SAFF), but if we have shown an improvement in the quality of football, it must reflect in the result. In this case, dominating wins (big margin wins) over known opponents is the benchmark India needs to aim for.

Igor Stimac might be heaping praise on his wards, but deep down, even he knows, we are progressing at a snail’s pace. For now, the focus will shift entirely to the 2021 SAFF Championships in the Maldives, which begins on October 1. It won’t be surprising at all if India wins the tournament for the eighth time, but what really matters is the way the team goes about its business. For the highest-ranked team in the competition, they should play like one.