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India and Afghanistan drew their World Cup qualifier at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday. The evenly-matched game ended 1-1.
India knew before the game that a draw would have secured them the third spot in the group, giving the Blue Tigers a direct spot in the AFC Asian Qualifiers third round for the AFC Asian Cup set to be held in 2023. The Afghans, meanwhile, needed a win to progress.
The match begun as a cagey affair, with both teams struggling to take control of the proceedings. However, as the game progressed, the Afghans started getting into the game more, while India had their share of half-chances. The scoreboard at halftime read 0-0.
The second half started with India having more of the ball, but Afghanistan created the better chances.
India took the lead in the 75th minute through an Ovays Azizi own goal. Afghanistan equalized in the 82nd minute through a Hossein Zamani strike.
India have thus finished third in their group and secured a spot in the third round qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
On that note, let us take a look at the four things we learned from today's game.
#4 Lack of cohesion in midfield hampers India
India started with Suresh Singh, Glan Martins and Brandon Fernandes in central midfield. But right from kickoff, their midfield lacked coordination with the defense and forwards. The gap between the defense and midfield was immense, and the Afghans appropriately utilized that space. The lack of support for the strikers also helped the Afghan defenders cope with the Indian attacks.
The way India approached the game affected the midfield as they were caught in two minds more often than not.
Brandon was denied space in midfield and that affected the attacking aspect of India's game. In addition, Glan and Suresh, along with Ashique and Manvir struggled while dealing with Afghanistan's physical presence.
#3 Afghanistan's grit and determination help them secure a point
Afghanistan showed great spirit and determination from the first minute and it helped them secure a point from the game. The Afghans pressed the Indian team effectively to make sure not much space was awarded to the opposition players.
The likes of Haroon Amiri, Masih Saighani and Mohammad M Sharif utilised their experience of playing in India to mount a stern challenge to their fancied opponents.
18-year-old Ajax academy graduate, forward Hossein Zamani kept a calm head and curled the ball into the net to equalise the game to finally reward their efforts. The goal in the 82nd minute spoke volumes about their determination.
#2 Igor Stimac's tactics and substitutions raise questions
Igor Stimac was praised for his substitutions in the last game. Today, though, his substitutions were poor and may have cost India two points. First, he took off Brandon in the 63rd minute and replaced him with Apuia. Then, in the 69th minute, he benched Sunil Chhetri and bought on Liston Colaco. Chhetri's substitution shocked everyone as the Bengaluru FC striker is known to have a penchant for scoring late goals.
Liston and Apuia both erred in the same move, leading to the Afghan equalizer. Moreover, none of the substitutes bought anything substantial to the game apart from two pairs of fresh legs.
#1 Fortune favours Team India
India was finding it hard to get past a determined Afghanistan defense. While the Blue Tigers did get some half-chances, nothing clear cut came their way. Their set pieces were also dealt with by the Afghanistan defense without much fuss. However, the Afghanistan players quickly closed down Brandon and Sunil Chhetri, which hampered India's chances. Igor Stimac substituted two of his best attacking options.
With two of the leading attacking players on the bench, people wondered who would find the net for India. But in the 75th minute, India did manage to score, only it was due to a bizarre own goal by the Afghan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi.
The Afghan goalkeeper failed to deal with an Ashique cross and pushed it right into his net while the ball was curling away from the goal. The goal is a sure-shot contender for a list of all-time funny own goals.
Had such an incident not happened, India would have lost the game and also lost the third-place spot.
