Afghanistan 1-1 India: Hits and Flops from the encounter

India and Afghanistan played out a cagey 1-1 draw at the Central Republican Stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The Blue Tigers started the better of the two sides but their dominance started to wane after the first quarter of the game.

Thereafter, Afghanistan grew into the encounter and established a foothold in the game. The Afghans’ increased control paid off in the final moments of the first half when Zelfagar Nazary finished off a flowing move from the edge of the box.

After the restart, India looked a lot more proactive as Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh went close. However, it was Seminlen Doungel who rose to the occasion with a well-placed header in second-half stoppage time.

Both sides frantically searched for a winner but their efforts didn’t bear fruit as India and Afghanistan had to settle for a draw.

Here is a look at the hits and flops from the game.

#5 Sahal Abdul Samad – Flop

The Kerala Blasters midfielder was handed a start against Afghanistan as Igor Stimac hoped to infuse his side with a bit of craft and guile in the final third. Unfortunately for India though, Sahal Abdul Samad failed to stamp his authority on the game, meaning that he wasn’t able to form a proper link between the midfield and the attack.

For long stretches of the first half, India controlled possession and often looked for a player to drag the opposition midfielders out of position to carve out openings. However, Sahal consistently failed to perform the aforementioned task, thereby ridding the Indians of any cutting edge.

Consequently, his inability to find space in between the lines prompted the Blue Tigers to ping the ball across their backline, a tactic Afghanistan were happy to defend against.

And, whenever Brandon Fernandes did pick out the Kerala Blasters midfielder, the latter’s touch let him down as he ran down blind alleys and eventually, gave the ball away.

Moreover, Sahal’s poor display forced Sunil Chhetri to drop deeper as India looked to prize out a breakthrough. Yet, that disabled them from having a central presence, in the process, making Afghanistan’s task easier.

Just after the hour mark, the youngster was hauled off in favour of Farukh Choudhary and India’s offensive pedigree on the night improved massively, thereby highlighting the ordinary display of Sahal.

#4 Zelfagar Nazary – Hit

Afghanistan came into the game as relative underdogs, courtesy their inferior FIFA ranking and the fact that they weren’t really being accorded any home advantage. Thus, plenty expected the Afghans to defend deep and try to capitalise on the occasional chance that would pop up. And, through the first half, they followed that plan to the tee with Zelfagar Nazary embodying that approach.

In the opening exchanges, India dominated the ball and barely allowed the Afghans to stitch anything substantial. However, Afghanistan resisted the temptation of pressing the Indians high up the pitch, meaning that they maintained their position in deeper areas and forced the Blue Tigers to play through the lines.

Nazary, alongside Noor Husin was vital to that modus operandi as the pair provided the adequate shield in front of the defence whereas they were also brave enough to hold onto the ball after India had relinquished possession.

The stupendous display of the duo completely nullified Sahal’s threat while they also didn’t allow Chhetri to function at optimum capacity.

And, to cap off a wonderful display, Nazary ended up bagging the opening goal on the stroke of half-time. After David Najem had cut the ball back into the box, the Western Pride FC midfielder timed his run to perfection to evade the attention of Pronay Halder. Subsequently, he found himself aptly stationed to stroke the ball into the roof of the net.

Thus, on a night when positives for both sides were far and few in between, Nazary stood out and quite emphatically at that.

#3 Sunil Chhetri – Flop

To be fair, quite a few of the other Indian players could’ve easily enrolled themselves for this particular unwanted accolade. Yet, the Indian captain was accorded the dishonour, not just for a toothless display but also because so much was expected of him, especially against a defensively shaky Afghanistan side.

Deployed as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 system, Sunil Chhetri didn’t have a lot of joy down the middle as he invariably got outnumbered against the physical Afghan centre-backs. Additionally, India’s lethargic build-up play allowed Afghanistan to close him down superbly on countless occasions.

More importantly, though, Chhetri was guilty of missing India’s most gilt-edged opportunity when he fluffed his lines with the goal gaping. After Brandon had swung in another sumptuous corner, the Indian skipper found himself unmarked in the six-yard box and had the goal at his mercy. Yet, he somehow contrived to head the ball onto the bar, even when it seemed easier to make the net ripple.

And, while there were a few good touches in the middle third, he largely looked out of sorts in a rudderless offensive performance.

Moving forward though, India might have to be a little wary of fielding Chhetri as a single striker, especially against sides intent on defending in a deep block. However, on the night, the forward didn’t really help his cause by firing a blank when his team required a goal-scoring touch.

#2 Brandon Fernandes – Hit

Stimac opted for an adventurous midfield trio of Brandon Fernandes, Pronay Halder and Sahal, thereby hinting at a slightly more attacking brand of football against Afghanistan. And, while Pronay and Sahal didn’t cover themselves in glory, Brandon did everything possible to ensure India didn’t return empty-handed. And, those efforts didn’t go in vain.

The FC Goa midfielder kept things ticking throughout the match, even as those around him searched for creativity and imagination. For a majority of the game, Brandon asked for the ball from his centre-backs before spreading the play adroitly.

However, none of the other midfielders and forwards provided him suitable options for India to create anything of note till the latter stages of the game. Inevitably, the onus fell on Brandon to conjure something from dead-ball situations and the midfielder didn’t disappoint.

Though he had been curling in wonderful crosses from corners and free-kicks for the entirety of the encounter, his deliveries weren’t met with the adequate connection until the dying moments when Doungel rose high to nod home.

Thus, despite India not enduring the most decisive evening offensively, Brandon kept banging at the Afghan door and ultimately, he managed to barge through, albeit with major help from his FC Goa teammate.

#1 Mandar Rao Desai – Flop

Mandar Rao Desai got the nod over Subhashish Bose for the game against Afghanistan as India looked to build on the former’s bright start to the ISL. However, none of that transpired on Thursday as the left-back endured a wretched game in Tajikistan.

For the entire duration of the first half, Mandar looked out of his depth as the Afghan attackers kept pushing and probing down his flank. They constantly targeted the defender as they ensured that they created situations of numerical superiority.

And, ultimately, that led to Afghanistan’s opening goal as David Najem overlapped on the right wing before squaring the ball for Nazary to lash home.

More worryingly though, Mandar was often caught out of position as his tendency to wander higher up the pitch came under the scanner. On several occasions, he provided no viable option offensively, meaning that his foray up the wing wasn’t very resourceful.

Additionally, whenever accorded possession in deeper areas, the defender looked devoid of ideas and failed to create requisite space to give his midfielders and centre-backs a passing avenue.

Over the past few years, Mandar has distinguished himself as perhaps the premier full-back across the country. However, against Afghanistan, he was well below his best.

Edited by Zaid Khan