AFC Asian Cup 2019, India 0-2 UAE: 5 Talking Points

#3 Stephen Constantine got his substitutions wrong

Udanta Singh was tormenting Alhassan Saleh

As much as this fearless, counter-attacking approach has been a breath of fresh air from Indian manager Stephen Constantine, some of the moves that he made in the second half were absolutely baffling.

Udanta Singh was India's biggest threat on the night. His pace was causing Alhassan Saleh all sorts of problems on India's right flank. The Bengaluru FC man had even hit the crossbar in the second half.

So, to put Jackichand Singh on to replace Udanta was a baffling move from Constantine. Even more so, when you saw that Ashique Kuruniyan really struggled in the second half after being moved out to the left flank to accommodate the half-time arrival of Jeje Lalpekhlua.

When you're chasing a game, you need all the attacking threat you can get. India was deprived off their threat from midfield when Anirudh Thapa was taken off to be replaced by Rowllin Borges.

Thapa's ability to pick a pass and his set-piece deliveries should've ensured that he stayed on the pitch for as long as India were chasing the game.

Udanta and Thapa could've both been huge cogs in the wheel for India to score, as they were in the first half, where only a combination of poor finishing and ill-luck kept India's goal tally unaltered.