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India beat Cambodia 2-0 in an AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifier at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday, June 8, to go atop Group D. 37-year old Sunil Chhetri, captain of the Blue Tigers, scored a brace, scoring in the 14th and 60th minutes.
It was the first victory for the Indian national team in 2022. They will next face Afghanistan, who lost to Hong Kong earlier today, at the same venue on Saturday (June 11).
On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:
#1 India put pressure on Cambodia from the very beginning and managed to break the deadlock
The home side started with a 4-3-3 formation with Liston Colaco, Chhetri and Manvir Singh as the front three. They started putting pressure on Cambodia, ranked 171st in the world, from the very beginning and managed to create a few opportunities. Colaco had an early shot at Cambodia’s goal, but it was blocked.
Roshan Singh and Brandon Fernandes then took shots from afar, but could not trouble the Cambodian goalkeeper. Colaco then earned a penalty when he was tripped inside the penalty box by a Cambodian defender. Chhetri made no mistake in converting from the spot and notched up his 81st international goal in the process.
Indian full-backs Akash Mishra and Roshan Singh kept making overlapping runs and delivering intermittent crosses. Chhetri could have scored another goal in this period, but could not connect Mishra’s cross. The Cambodians, meanwhile, could not test Gurpreet Singh Sandhu aside from hitting a free-kick straight into his hands.
#2 India got the insurance goal after the break as Mishra continued to impress
India started the second half in a lively manner, with Mishra making quite a few overlapping runs and delivering a few crosses. Igor Stimac introduced Sahal Abdul Samad and Udanta Singh in place of Anirudh Thapa and Manvir, respectively.
Abdul Samad’s introduction meant that the hosts had a genuine ballplayer and playmaker in midfield and the 25-year-old made his presence felt with his deft touches. His work rate also improved as the match progressed and he made a few probing runs. Meanwhile, Udanta kept looking for empty space to make one of his darting runs, but the Cambodians kept defending deep and did not allow him the opportunity.
India’s second goal came from a corner when Brandon Fernandes got the ball and played a perfect cross into the penalty box. Chhetri’s header beat the Cambodian goalkeeper to give the Blue Tigers a cushion.
#3 India made more substitutions, but could not improve the winning margin
Stimac took off Chhetri minutes after the latter had scored the second goal and introduced Aashique Kuruniyan. Glan Martins and Pritam Kotal then replaced Brandon and Roshan Singh, respectively. Colaco started playing a false nine as Aashique started on the left flank.
Meanwhile, Cambodia kept defending deep and playing sporadic long balls to their forwards. However, centre-backs Sandesh Jhingan and Anwar Ali succeeded in keeping the opposition forwards at bay. Suresh also shielded the defense well with his impressive work rate and timely interventions.
In the latter stages of the second half, Udanta switched to the left flank at times and tried to cut in with his stronger right foot. Colaco swapped positions with Aashique at times as the latter got a great opportunity to score the third goal for the hosts, but his shot from inside the box was parried by the Cambodian goalkeeper.
