How India should line-up at the 2020 AFC U-23 Championships Qualifiers

What should be the tactic with this line-up?

India should be lined-up in a 4-1-2-3 formation

Whether you like it or not, the counter-attacking tactic has worked wonderfully for India in the recent across all age group formats.

India hit the crossbar a couple of times in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championships, and obliterated Thailand in the opening game of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

However, the loss against Bahrain also reminded us that lobbing meaningless long balls in the air won't be of any help. So, if there is a proper plan to counter-attack, then India can qualify for the main edition of the tournament.

Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem's long throws can be immensely helpful in this case. Against Thailand and UAE, Gurpreet and Pritam Kotal had to kick the ball high in the air and the strikers had to press forward to win throw-ins in the opposition half.

However, Dheeraj's throws are easy to control and Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, and Ashique Kuruniyan's pace should help the team.

Both the wingers, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Ashique Kuruniyan, are comfortable playing on either side of the wings.

Thus, they can exchange their positions and confuse the defenders. Rohit Danu isn't that sort of striker that can score goals single-handedly. The 16-year-old will not miss sitters and if Thapa, Sahal, and the wingers can create opportunities for him, he will not hesitate to punish them.

Deepak Tangri will play as a screen just in front of the defenders, allowing Sahal Abdul Samad and Anirudh Thapa to venture forward. He can also assist the fullbacks in case the oppositions overload one wing.

The fullbacks shouldn't overlap unless the team is behind. India has leaked in a lot of goals in the previous editions of the tournament and, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan can punish the back-four, which looks the weakest of the lot in the paper.

Fatigue should be a major concern for the team as India would play three matches in a span of six days.

Ashique Kuruniyan, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Anirudh Thapa, and Sahal Abdul Samad's positions, in particular, require a lot of pace and, there is no way either of them could play full 270 minutes in such a high tempo.

Hence, the coach should wisely use his substitutions. Amarjit Singh Kiyam (Central Attacking Midfielder), Komal Thatal (Left Wing), and Boris Singh (Right Wing) should be brought in so that the team doesn't lose the attacking intent in the later stages of the game.

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