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Oman easily overcame a hapless India 3-0India’s torrid run in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asia Cup Qualifying rounds continued as they crashed to a 3-0 defeat in Muscat at the hands of Oman. With little expectations from the game, India did well to stifle Oman early on and hold them to a 0-0 score line at half time.But India couldn’t resist much pressure after the break as the hosts upped the ante. It took them just ten minutes in the second half to make the breakthrough and later on it was smooth sailing for Oman as India shipped in two more goals. The defeat leaves the Indian National team in a really bad shape and there are several issues which will be talked up over the next few days.Here we take a look at the five talking points which India’s defeat to Oman threw up.
#1 Non-existent midfield making India a poor team
It’s evident that India’s biggest problem lies in the middle of the park. Constantine has tried several combinations there and nothing seems to be working. The midfield has become a huge cause for concern as it directly points towards a lack of ball playing players in the country. Eight games into his managerial stint with India, the coach has no clue who his best players are to play in central midfield.
India’s midfield has been non-existent in recent games apart from certain parts of the game against Iran and is neither stopping the opponent players from playing nor being able to hold the ball or spray it forward. Oman had plenty of joy in front of the Indian defense and played little triangles in dangerous areas as the Indians relied on the heroics of their back four and the goalkeeper to clear the danger.
With such a big problem in central midfield, few teams can hope for better results in football. Constantine has to look elsewhere than his preferred crop of midfielders otherwise things could get even worse.
#2 Defence errs, India errs
As always the Indian center backs had to throw their body on the line on several occasions in the game to save a certain goal. In the first half, the back four held up pretty well under increasing pressure from the home side and also made some crucial tackles to stop the Omanese in their tracks.
But with virtually zero protection in front of them, it was inevitable before an Indian defender would commit a mistake that would lead to Oman’s opener. India who struggled against set-pieces all game conceded the first goal through that very route. The center backs then lost their plot as India conceded two more goals. The otherwise steady looking partnership of Sandesh Jhingan and Arnab Mondal were guilty of Oman’s last two goals as the duo cracked after being exposed all throughout the game.
With India’s over-reliance on the backline to bail them out, they are a disaster waiting to happen in games, especially against quality sides like Oman and Iran.
#3 Gurpreet Singh Sandu, India\'s brightest spot in Oman
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who has had a stuttering start to his India career, earned his bread with a top class performance in goal today. Sandhu was kept busy in the first half as the Oman resorted to shots from long range. Sandhu had to be alert to the danger and made a good save in the 40th minute to keep out a venomous drive from outside the box.
Sandhu was called into action early on in the second half when he made a brave save to deny an Oman attacker who had the goal at his mercy. He did well to capitalize on the forward’s delay in getting his shot away and made a fine save. There was nothing he could do about the goals which India conceded but made some saves of the top drawer to keep the scoring down and avoid it from turning into a cricket score.
The credit goes to Stephan Constantine for sticking with him as his No.1 goalkeeper is starting to repay his faith.
#4 Is Constantine doing enough?
Constantine has had just one win under his belt since taking over the managerial reigns of the Indian National team. Having lost five out of the total eight matches, with the other two games being disappointing 0-0 draws with Nepal, the Englishman has invited great scrutiny.
While the coach has constantly tinkered with the starting combination, there has been little impact of his changes on the side’s performance. There has been a similar pattern to all of India’s defeats and Constantine hasn’t been able to stem India’s downfall in games.
In the last two games, the team has shown little fight to stop the run of bad results and that’s something the manager should command from his players. Constantine and his team seem to be going through the motions in games and that raises the questions whether Stephan Constantine is doing enough to get his players motivated enough for matches of such magnitude. Time is quickly running out for Constantine and it’s time he made amends.
#5 What next for India?
India sit fifth in the group and are yet to open their account in the 2018 FIFA World Cup & 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification campaign. With the hopes of making it to the 2018 FIFA World Cup extinguished long ago, India is making it very difficult for itself to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup which was the more realistic target for India to start with.
But with just three games to go India could only hope for a third-place finish, which will take some doing from here on. India play Guam in November before an away game in Tehran against the mighty Iran on 24th March 2016. The Indians finish off with a home game against Turkmenistan five days later.
India now will be looking to win their remaining two home games against Guam and Turkmenistan and finish on six points. The Indians could be excused if they come empty handed from Iran considering their superior quality, but anything less than six pints from the remaining three games would count as an absolute disaster for Indian football.
The Indian team will be under pressure against Guam, playing at home as the Blue Tigers will be expected to win that game at any cost.
