Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, got another reason to turn the night into another party as India beat Puerto Rico 4-1 in a friendly on Saturday night. Indian football fans were served up a treat as the national football team entertained the packed house in Mumbai with some enthralling football. The final score read 4-1 but, if the Indians were even a bit more clinical, it could and probably should have been much more.
In what will go down as one of the biggest wins for the Indians in recent history, Stephen Constantine and his boys made the country proud with their effort. The Blue Tigers not only beat an opponent that is ranked more than 30 places above them, they dominated them for the best part of 80 minutes.
After going down early in the 8th minute, the Indians came roaring back as goals from Narayan Das, Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua made it 3-1 going into the half. They pressed further forward in the second half and were rewarded with another goal from Jackichand Singh.
Here are the five biggest talking points from the game.
1) Sunil Chhetri makes his mark
The game started on the wrong note for the Indians and they were soon made to pay as a reckless challenge from Jackichand awarded the visitors a penalty in the 8th minute. Up until then, the Indians looked clueless as their midfield failed to control the game, their defence looked shaky and more importantly, failed to get Chhetri into the game.
But that didn’t last long. The talismanic Indian forward got into the game soon after India fell behind and oozed class. His touches were defining and his passes were exactly where the others wanted and when they wanted them. This game, in fact, became a showcase of his technical brilliance and footballing IQ.
His expertise dead ball situations were just the icing on the cake as he fired India into the lead with a clever free-kick. Whilst Constantine’s decision to take the captain’s armband away from the forward was certainly questionable, this game went to show how thorough a professional he is on the pitch.
2) Indian tactics played out to perfection
Whilst Chhetri stole the show with his brilliant performance, the team’s execution, as well as Constantine’s plans have to be given due respect. The Indians were deployed in a 4-4-2 on paper, but Constantine realised soon after the start of the game that they were getting outplayed in central midfield. And the game changed when Constantine went 4-4-1-1 with Chhetri dropping deep.
While Chhetri helped control the pace of the game, Jeje Lalpekhlua was his opportune self and ran the channels with ferocity. Eugeneson Lyngdoh, meanwhile, was mesmerising with his touch on the ball and the precision of his passing. It was soon enough that Jackichand Singh joined the party and could have had the moment of the game when he tried an audacious chip from nearly 40 yards out.
The defence also looked sound for most parts of the game barring the start as Arnab Mondal and Sandesh Jhingan bossed Emanuel Sanchez. Whilst Narayan Das sparkled only for a little while, it was an important touch. A miss from the rebound would have let the shoulders drop and the after-effects could have been pretty different.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu also came good when called upon and it was a welcome change to see him commanding in the air as well.
3) Puerto Rico are still a mess
This was certainly the best time to play the Puerto Rico side and Stephen Constantine certainly did choose his opponents well. While they may be ranked 38 rungs above India, the North American side are in free fall. It should be remembered that they have only climbed up the table in recent times and were even ranked 170 earlier this calendar year.
They came into the game with only 16 players with three strikers not accompanying them on the trip and had lost two international friendlies in the last seven days to the Dominican Republic. On top of that, you also had to consider the fact that they were without their coach and had landed in Mumbai 24 hours earlier.
It was a mess alright, but a mess that was all of their own making. And that reflected on the pitch as well. While they got off to a spirited start, they had no answer when the Indians took hold of the game with an iron-like grip.
4) Mumbai felt like home
This was the first time Mumbai hosted an international football game in 61 years and that just goes to show the atrocity that the game of football has met with in the country. However, the Mumbai Football Arena and the fans from the city gave the Indian football team the perfect welcome. A packed stadium gave the Indians raucous support throughout the game and it was heartening to see the Indians caring for their football team.
This was certainly a welcome change after seeing the Indian team play in front of empty seats at Kochi and Guwahati. Even at the Indian footballing Mecca, Kolkata, the team fails to get such an atmosphere as the sheer size of the ground makes it feel relatively empty.
The AIFF should try and focus on playing international games in front of packed stadiums, even if they are small ones. Bangalore and Mumbai, thus can soon become the defacto homes of the Indian team.
5) Stephen Constantine makes his case
With the Indian Super League and I-League set to go into full swing over the next few months, India are not expected to play any other international friendlies anytime soon. What this also means is that Stephen Constantine’s time as the coach of the Indian football team might well be over with his contract running out in February next year. And if this was his farewell, he will certainly be going out in style.
However, this performance certainly gives the AIFF hierarchy food for thought regarding a contract extension. In the last year-and-a-half, Constantine has given debuts to 26 players and the faith is certainly being repaid.
There were calls for his head when the Indian team lost five on the bounce in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers last year. However, the last 10 games have seen them win eight. In fact, the last three games have seen them score 12 goals while conceding only two.
India surged up the FIFA rankings after defeating Laos 6-1 earlier this season and this victory will certainly have a similar effect.
