India played their last group-stage match against Kuwait and had to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw after conceding a late own goal. Here are five positive takeaways from the match for Indian football.
Here are the 5 Takeaway points we can take from the India vs Kuwait match
Quick Transitions:
India was able to do quick transitions from defense to attack through short passing and brilliant link-up play through the midfield and wings. Mostly the construction of such transitions was through the wings, where India looks very effective.
The wingers were able to put many quality whipping crosses which unfortunately couldn't find any finisher. India vs Kuwait also saw that aggressiveness in Attacking Football which Indian Football need against opponents like Kuwait.
Left Flank Link-up :
Yesterday the linkup play on the left-hand flank between Akash Mishra (Left Back), Ashique- who was dropping into the midfield from the forward positions and Naorem Mahesh on the left wing was brilliant.
Mahesh was inverting on many occasions in the midfield to leave space for Akash to run as an overlapping full-back.
The good tactical display on the field from India against a strong Kuwait was appreciable. Also, many dangerous crosses came from the left flank through the legs of Mahesh & Akash but India's poor quality of finishing inside the box restricted the scoreline.
Solid defence and goalkeeping:
The defense and goalkeeping from India was good as it has been in recent times. The technically superior Kuwait forward line was again and again denied entry into the D-box.
At times when Kuwait could enter the box the defense was compact and shape well maintained which denied any clear-cut scoring opportunity except on 2 occasions where the goalkeeper stood tall to deny the ball into the net.
The partnership of Amrinder(goalkeeper), Sandesh Jingan & Anwar Ali (2 center-backs) was
ecstatic.
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The Captain, Leader, Legend's 92nd:
It was Sunil Chettri who scored the only goal for India again just before halftime from an Anirudh Thapa corner. It was a majestic goal for the legend as he scored from a volley while the ball was in the air. It was treat to watch. We Indian fans hope he gets his 100th this year.
Growth of organic fans:
We can feel that slowly the organic fans in Indian football are growing, who would stay and support the National team for a long time.
Apart from the social media content creators who have been enjoying and promoting Indian football for 2-3 years, there has been an addition & increase of many new content creators who previously used to follow only European football. These new creators now know the name of all the starting eleven players which is a welcoming sign for Indian football.
The major question that lies ahead is: Can India build it's football future upon this and few previous performances?
Hope you liked our insights and opinions. We would be coming with more in the future. Thank you.
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