Asian Cup 2019: Is the defense India's biggest worry?

India will kickstart its 2019 Asian Cup campaign against Thailand on 6th January at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Blue Tigers have kept clean sheets against higher-ranked opponents like China and Oman in the recent past. Going by those results, we should actually praise the back-four for their discipline and solidarity. However, analyzing deeply, we realize that the big picture might be slightly hazy.

Stephen Constantine has always received flak from the fans for his baffling selection policy. Rather than rewarding players based on their recent form, he has stuck to the same tried and tested formula.

Rahul Bheke is a prominent name missing from the squad. The 28-year-old versatile defender can play in all the positions of the back four with equal confidence. Moreover, he even has 2 goals and 1 assist. Not choosing a player who has 27 tackles and a staggering 62 clearances to his name from 11 matches will probably end up haunting Stephen Constantine later.

Ricky Lallawmawma and Joyner Lourenco are two other noteworthy defenders excluded from the list. The former is a left-back by trade and has 38 tackles, 23 interceptions, 49 clearances, and 19 blocks from 11 matches for the defensively astute ATK. On the other hand, the latter is a center-back and has started all the games for Mumbai City FC since their 5-0 drubbing from FC Goa. Forging a solid partnership with Lucian Goian, the duo has conceded only four goals in their 8-match unbeaten run.

The current form of the players who have made the cut doesn't draw a rosy picture either. Pritam Kotal is the first-choice right back and has gone under the book twice. His previous side, Delhi Dynamos, has kept only 1 clean sheet in the entirety of the tournament, that too against the bottom-placed and misfiring Chennaiyin FC.

The first-choice center-backs Sandesh Jhingan and Anas Edathodika, too aren't in the top of their form. Their side Kerala Blasters has only kept two clean sheets so far, one in the season opener where Anas was rested and the other against Chennaiyin FC where Jhingan was rested.

In the 1009 minutes played by Sandesh Jhingan, he conceded 15 fouls. Moreover, in the past three games, he was used as a right back- a position he is not familiar with. Anas, on the other hand, has only played 5 matches in the ISL with only 6 interceptions and 6 tackles to his name.

Salam Ranjan Singh and Sarthak Golui are the other two inexperienced players in the UAE. The former has made only two appearances for East Bengal- one of which includes coming on as an 89th-minute substitute, while the latter has only made 6 appearances for FC Pune City in the ISL.

Narayan Das is the second-choice left back and Pritam Kotal's ex-teammate in the Delhi Dynamos. He has played 11 matches and conceded 10 fouls and got 4 yellow cards. Subhasish Bose is the only player from the squad who is in the top of his game. The first-choice left back for India and Mumbai City FC. The 23-year-old has played every minute for the Islanders and has 46 tackles, 15 interceptions, and 90 clearances from 12 matches. However, he too has given away cheap fouls as he has 13 fouls to his name.

If India were up against oppositions who were struggling to score, they could have had a sigh of relief. However, that is not the case. The Indian defense can only take it calmly against Bahrain as none of their strikers have scored more than 7 goals in international matches.

UAE's Ali Mabkhout has 46 goals from 73 international appearances. Their other forwards, veteran Ismael Matar and Ahmed Khalil, have 42 and 46 goals respectively. Although UAE likes to play with one man up front, they will get plenty of chances and the strikers can finish it with aplomb.

Thailand likes to play with three men in the front line and has chosen five forwards for the same. Chanathip Songrasin is the most dreadful among the lot. Nicknamed as the Thai Messi because of his nimble-footed abilities and short height, the 25-year-old has been named in the J-League team of the Year. Teerasil Dangda is another striker the Indian defenders need be wary about as the 30-year-old has scored 42 times for Thailand.

All that being said, let's hope that the Indian defenders stand tall against their oppositions and deliver a respectable campaign.