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The Indian men's national team secured a narrow 1-0 win against 164th-ranked Vanuatu in the Intercontinental Cup at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on Monday, June 12.
Manager Igor Stimac stuck to his word about rotating the squad, with only Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri retaining their places in the starting lineup from the win against Mongolia.
From the beginning, the Indian side established their attacking intent as they kept possession of the ball and exhibited accurate passing in their fluid 4-2-3-1 formation.
Nandhakumar Sekar, making his debut, squandered an early opportunity. Naorem Mahesh Singh was the pick of the Indian players as he controlled the action with his deft passing.
Despite having multiple chances to score, the Blue Tigers couldn't capitalize and were stuck on 0-0 at half-time.
India's offensive strength persisted in the second half, and ultimately with less than 10 minutes of play left, Chhetri stabbed home the winner after receiving a perfectly placed cross from Subhasish Bose.
With their second straight loss, Vanuatu have been eliminated from the competition while India climbed to the top of the group and secured a spot in the finale.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings for India from the narrow victory against Vanuatu:
Player ratings for India
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK) [7.0]
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu returned to the setup on Monday and handled matters with great calmness. Vanuatu offered very little attacking pressure, but on the rare occasions they did, Gurpreet was up to the task.
Pritam Kotal [7.0]
The ATK Mohun Bagan defender showed positive intent from the right-back position, going up and down the pitch and creating a threat on the overlap. His crosses were effective, however, he was unlucky to come away without a goal contribution.
Sandesh Jhingan [7.0]
Jhingan put up another towering performance against Vanuatu as he negated most of the opposition's attacks. He thwarted any possible counter-attacks and distributed the ball brilliantly towards the wide areas.
Mehtab Singh [6.5]
Mehtab Singh partnered Jhingan well throughout the match, but didn't have a significant individual impact.
Subhasish Bose [8.0]
The pick of the Indian defenders, Subhasish Bose was solid in the backline and also a threat when he bombed down the left-wing. His crosses were always accurate and the veteran full-back provided the assist for the winning goal.
Rowllin Borges [6.5]
Given he was returning to the Indian setup after a while, there was a bit of stiffness in Rowllin Borges' movement, which slowed down India in the middle of the park. His passing through the middle lacked intent, and the Blue Tigers had to concentrate their attacks down the flanks during his time on the pitch.
Rohit Kumar [6.0]
There was a lot of enthusiasm and spark shown by Rohit Kumar in the middle of the park, but he ended up wasting possession and misplacing his passes on multiple occasions.
Naorem Mahesh Singh [8.0]
The East Bengal FC winger was one of the sharpest players on the pitch for the Blue Tigers on his first start for the team. Operating from the right-wing in the first half and the left-wing in the second, he repeatedly got the better of opposition full-backs. Singh drilled in a few perfectly placed balls for the attackers to convert, but the finishing touch was lacking.
Liston Colaco [6.5]
A bit of flamboyance, a bit of hardwork, and a lot of frustration was the order of the night for Liston Colaco. Despite stringing together a few effective plays in the final third, he always lacked the final ball.
Nandhakumar Sekar [7.0]
The 27-year-old made his debut tonight and was an absolute workhorse during his time on the pitch. But there were moments when Nandhakumar Sekar looked overwhelmed by the occasion.
Sunil Chhetri [8.5]
Throughout his stay on the pitch, the 38-year-old looked like the likeliest scorer on the pitch for India, despite squandering a couple of gilt-edge opportunities. But in the 81st minute, he brought down a delightful ball from Subhasish on his chest and slammed a volley from inside the box to secure the victory.
SUBSTITUTES
Sahal Abdul Samad [7.0]
As soon as he came on, there was a lot of positive intent from the Blue Tigers in the attacking third. He combined well with the likes of Mahesh and Chhangte to find spaces between Vanuatu's defensive lines.
Anirudh Thapa [7.0]
Thapa came off the bench alongside Sahal and had a similar impact. Replacing Rohit Kumar, Thapa controlled the tempo in the midfield expertly.
Jeakson Singh [6.0]
Given Vanuatu were on the back foot throughout the second half, Jeakson didn't have many defensive responsibilities, but he recycled the ball well in the middle of the park.
Lallianzuala Chhangte [7.0]
Chhangte replaced Nandhakumar and added directness to India's game down the flanks.
Rahim Ali [6.0]
The Chennaiyin FC forward came on in the 85th minute and had little impact on the game.
