AFC Asian Cup: Goalless and pointless, India eye big improvement against Syria and helpful results elsewhere to boost R16 hopes

If in Australia and Uzbekistan, India found top Asian teams looking to win the biggest football prize in the continent, against Syria, they find kinship in goals moving forward, even though both teams have found goals hard to come by. While Syria have a point from two games thanks to a 0-0 draw against Uzbekistan and can go through to the Round of 16 with a win against India, it’s a lot tougher for Igor Stimac’s team, who have conceded five goals over two games and not scored a single one of their own.

The top two teams from each of the six groups go through. With these 12 teams, four of the best third-placed teams will comprise the Round of 16.

Even a win against the Syrians can’t guarantee a spot in the last 16 for India, who also must hope a host of results go their way in other groups. Syria come with the same set of physical attributes that have troubled the Indians at this tournament. However, it’s the lack of goals scored that needs to change. Striker Sunil Chhetri, playing in his third AFC Asian Cup, spoke about how India being goalless and pointless at this stage of the tournament has simply been a matter of misfired attempts in front of the target.

“The problem is that India and I haven’t scored. We don’t go into the game thinking we don’t want to score. We had chances against Uzbekistan and Australia,” said Chhetri in the pre-match conference on Monday. “I can assure you that we haven’t scored not because of lack of want but we missed chances. The chances they (opponents) got went in. That’s the margin in this tournament. Come tomorrow, we hope to change that.”

In his previous two appearances in the Asian Cup, Chhetri was responsible for the lion’s share of India’s goals. They scored three in the 2011 edition and four in 2019. The veteran finding the net on Tuesday will at least be a step in the direction of India qualifying for the Round of 16, which remains a remote possibility.

Head coach Stimac spoke about how India managed to create chances against Uzbekistan and Australia and needed to do the same to qualify for the next stage of the competition.

“That would be an amazing achievement for India. Prior to coming here, we knew how unlucky we were because of injuries to our main players. We did the best to strengthen our game and use this experience to further our plans which are obviously very important. We created many chances against much stronger opponents and hopefully we will do the same tomorrow,” the Croat said.

Fixing defensive shape

Stimac also spoke about how India’s defensive shape and awareness were an issue – not just at this Asian Cup, but in the World Cup qualifiers previously as well. India have played two WCQs – one ending in a 1-0 away win against Kuwait and the other a 3-0 loss to Qatar at home.

The same issues that cropped up against Qatar reared their head against Uzbekistan. A weakness in dealing with crosses and second balls into the box as well as issues of concentration have been plaguing the Indian backline, something that Stimac wants to see his defenders get better at.

“The point which I am not happy about is the defensive shape and reaction and marking inside the box. Not just in the last two games but also in the World Cup qualifiers. It obviously needs to change and we have to be more aware when crosses are coming. We are reacting late and hopefully that will be better,” he said.

How India can qualify for the Round of 16 at AFC Asian Cup

– India needs to beat Syria – a draw or a loss is not an option.

– In Group A, Qatar beating China would be an ideal result for India – a likely result considering how well the hosts are playing and how none of the other teams in their group have even scored a goal in two games.

– In Group C, Hong Kong will need to draw or beat Palestine.

– In Group D, an ideal result for India would be Japan beating Indonesia by a big margin and Iraq avoiding defeat against Vietnam – both scenarios being realistic possibilities.

– In Group E, India need Bahrain to beat an inspired Jordan squad and hope South Korea live up to their billing to beat Malaysia.

– In Group F, a draw between Oman and Kyrgyzstan would mean neither of those two get to three points.

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