India kicked off their Asian Cup campaign in style, getting their first win in the competition since 1964 as they blew Thailand away in the second half en route to a 4-1 victory.
Two goals from Sunil Chhetri plus sumptuous finishes from Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua helped India get over a poor first half display and go top of their group.
Here’s a look at the talking points from the Group A-encounter.
INDIA’S SECOND-HALF BLUEPRINT SENDS WARNING
India were somewhat lucky to go into the break with the scores level. Their penalty was fortunate, their defence was poor enough that they could have easily conceded more than the one goal they did, and overall, though they are ranked 20 places higher, they were easily the worse side in the first half.
Thailand had all the time in the world in midfield, and India’s goal came against the run of play.
Whatever manager Stephen Constantine said at half-time completely changed the game. India came out with a renewed purpose in the second half, swarming their opponents with an energy and intensity that had been missing in the opening period.
It helped that they scored within a minute, forcing Thailand to come out and attack and allowing India to play on the counter. But even that was an indication of the difference in intent, as their desire to take the game by the scruff of its neck stunned Thailand. That they scored a third and fourth came as no surprise based on their second-half performance.
If India can replicate this over a full game against the UAE on Thursday, especially that fast start, the hosts will be in trouble.
Stephen Constantine inspired an improved second-half display.
CHHETRI GETS THE GOALS BUT ASHIQUE THE STAR
Fun fact: Sunil Chhetri now has more international goals than Lionel Messi.
The Indian talisman’s brace here took his tally to 67, after he started the game level with Messi on 65.
Chhetri’s status as India’s greatest-ever footballer has already been cemented, and Sunday’s brace only added to the legend, helping India to a win that took them to the top of their group and put them in a strong position to qualify to the next round, given that UAE and Bahrain could only manage a draw.
But on Sunday, he owed a debt to a surprise starter, and Constantine for making a gutsy call.
Lalpekhlua has been one of India’s rising stars over the last four years, but he hadn’t scored for the national team in ten months.
So Constantine took the decision to drop him and play Ashique Kuruniyan alongside Chhetri, and it proved to be an inspired choice. The 21-year-old ran the channels well, harried Thailand’s defenders throughout, and was impressive with his link-up play with his legendary strike partner.
For good measure, Lalpekhlua came on and scored as a substitute. But the way the Chhetri-Kuruniyan partnership flourished will have left Constantine feeling vindicated.
Ashique Kuruniyan made the difference for India on Sunday.
THAILAND LEFT TO RUE MISSED OPPORTUNITY
A win would have been an upset for Thailand based on the rankings, but it wouldn’t have been entirely unexpected – India last won against Thailand in 1986.
And the way they settled into the game in the first half, after a nervy start, would have given them confidence. They had the India defence scrambling at times, forced Gurpreet Singh Sandhu into a superb point-blank save, and probably should have scored more than once.
That their lone goal was an equaliser will also rankle, not just because India scored almost out of nothing, but also because the penalty awarded against Theerathon Bunmathan was debatable – the ball ricocheting onto his hand from barely a yard away.
It was to their credit that they got over that quickly, continued to dominate, and got a goal, but they will wonder what could have been, had they converted their dominance into more goals and not gotten the wrong end of the stick with a refereeing decision.
As the lowest-ranked side in the group, Thailand need those breaks to go their way in order to have any hopes of qualifying for the knockout. On Sunday, they didn’t.
The breaks didn’t go Thailand’s way.
