AFC Asian Cup 2023: More questions than answers after India’s poor showing in Qatar

India’s campaign at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 had started with the hope of an underdog story, a David trying to kill the Goliath at the continental level.

Two weeks later, it exited the tournament with three losses in as many games, zero goals and zero points as coach Igor Stimac rummaged for excuses.

The Blue Tigers started their campaign with a 0-2 loss to Australia, the only match it showed serious spine — stifling the Socceroos in the first half and almost scoring earlier in the game from a Sunil Chhetri header.

But Jackson Irvine’s goal pushed them back into a defensive mindset, and a slip-up in that department had Jordan Bos scoring his first international goal to double the lead.

Against Uzbekistan, India looked like a bunch of schoolboys on tour in the first 20 minutes of the match, where it primarily lost the game. By half-time, Srejko Katanec’s side was 3-0 up and almost closed the doors for India’s qualification.

Hector Cuper, who had taken Egypt to the FIFA World Cup after 28 years, put the final nail in the coffin with his current side, Syria. Omar Khrbin scored in the 76th minute to beat India and march into the knockouts.

That, pretty much, was India’s show — a pointless tour which ranks second from bottom in its all-time performances in the tournament. Only the 2011 edition was worse for India, where it had let in six more goals than that in 2024, in the same country.

Shortly after the tournament, Bob Houghton, the then-head coach of India, had tendered his resignation.

Stimac, on the other hand, was handed a two-year contract extension before the tournament, and awaits an extension of another two years if his boys qualify for the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Outplayed in tactics and quality

In three games, India had six shots on target and allowed the opponents 18, an average of six shots on target per game. It not only showed its lack of clinical attacking but also its porous defence.

It started its campaign without four injured first-team regulars — Ashique Kuruniyan (winger), Anwar Ali (centre-back), Jeakson Singh (defensive midfielder) and Sahal Abdul Samad (midfielder), with Sahal only ready for the final game.

While this did weaken the team, it was here that the prowess of a coach should have come into play. “The structure of the game and tactics should not suffer from who acts as a performer,” legendary coach Valery Lobanovsky had once said.

Stimac remained the second-best coach in all matches his boys played, and that will be something the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will have to look into after this forgettable outing.

Withering challenge: After nearly five years under him, India’s rank has fallen another spot — after rising to 99th for a month — to 102 in the last rankings and is expected to fall further after the AFC Asian Cup. | Photo Credit: AP

India looked especially outplayed along both flanks — where its first-team starters, Akash Mishra and Nikhil Poojary, were both fit and available. All of India’s goals came with build-up through the wings, with three goals from either flank.

READ | Difference in quality, ineffective substitutions killed the game for us: India coach Igor Stimac

Trevor Sinclair, brought in as assistant just before the tournament to strengthen the wings, both in attack and defence, added no cure to the penury.

Rahul Bheke, filling in for Anwar, could never step up as a ball-playing centre-back — a role the latter thrived in, alongside Sandesh Jhingan.

In attack, Lallianzula Chhangte was the only impressive player with his ubiquitous presence in the field. When the team had possession, he would march up the pitch to assist the offence and would track back soon after losing possession.

Chhetri has been one of the best servants of Indian football, with 93 goals to his name, but at 39, this Asian Cup might have been his last appearance in the competition. He looked rusty throughout the campaign and India will have to look at his replacement sooner rather than later.

In the midfield, Deepak Tangri came of age, impressing in his senior team debut but Lalengmawia Ralte’s lack of experience, at the competitive level, allowed the opponents to win the ball outside the penalty box, which saw Syria capitalise the most in its final match.

Going around in circles

Stimac, a member of Croatia’s first golden generation that finished third in the FIFA World Cup 1998, has been in charge of the national team for nearly five years now.

His predecessor as India coach, Stephen Constantine had taken the team from 173rd to 97th in the FIFA rankings, helped it register a win in an AFC Asian Cup match — 4-1 win against Thailand in 2019 — and won the SAFF Championship and the Intercontinental Cup.

All in a spell — his second in India — shorter than the Croat. Stimac, after the Asian Cup’s no-show, however, has repeatedly shifted goalposts instead of taking responsibility for the embarrassment in Doha.

The fingers pointed to injuries, a decrease in quality depth, and a lack of football infrastructure in India. There were also instances when he openly criticised his players, throwing them under the bus. He also highlighted shortage of proper center-forwards and players of Indian origin not being allowed to play for the country.

“I’m not sure if there is any other country which is not allowing players of their origin to represent their country,” he said, “It is a huge handicap because there are many good players of Indian origin playing in the top leagues of Europe.”

“I don’t have a magic sword. I’m a hardworking guy who is asking you to turn things around and be patient because good things in football do not happen overnight. In the next 12 months, I will take you to the third round of World Cup qualifiers, I promise that,” Igor Stimac said. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

On another occasion, he opined, “At the lower level, we’re going to dominate games. But to have better efficiency at the AFC Asian Cup, we need complete players. We either have players who can pass the ball or cannot match the strength, or the opposite. Something is missing.”

While his claims are true to some extent, what did Stimac expect while taking up the job of a side ranked outside the top 100 of FIFA rankings? India was ranked 101 when he took up the job on April 4, 2019.

After nearly five years under him, India’s rank has fallen another spot — while registering 99th for a month — to 102 in the last rankings and is expected to fall further after the AFC Asian Cup.

Malaysia, a team ranked 130th in the world, made a group stage exit, two days after India’s last game. But when it played against South Korea, ranked 23rd, it pushed Jurgen Klinsmann’s side to the edge, leading the game 2-1 at a point in time to before being held to a 3-3 draw.

Both Tajikistan, ranked four spots below India, and Thailand, ranked 11 spots below India, have qualified for the round of 16 of the Asian Cup 2023.

READ | Allowing Indian-origin players to represent tricolour would be huge help for Indian football: Stimac

Irrespective of which opponent they play, Stimac’s boys must remember that the scoreboard remains 0-0 at kick-off. But with the lack of ownership after failures, it will be tough for India to dream of bigger things in the future.

The Blue Tigers face Afghanistan in the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers in March.

With the tournament expanded to a 48-team contest, making it to the third round will be an easier task than the previous editions but Stimac has cautioned that he cannot promise anything beyond that.

“But after that, things need to speed up, with investments, foreign coaches in Indian football academies and more serious competitions for age-group sides.”