India faced Iran in the AFC U-16 Championship in what was a must win game for the Indians on Wednesday night. Any other result would result in failure to progress past the group stages. The Blue Tigers did all they could, but walked away from the field after losing 3-0. It was a disappointing and disheartening result, but our lads have showed that they have what it takes to compete at this level with some respectable performances in the tournament.
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Let’s take a look at how each of our players fared in today’s game.
Dheeraj Moirangtem - 7/10
The keeper was great. He made some brilliant saves to keep the team in the game for as long as he could. He showed off his quick reflexes, good timing, and anticipation throughout the game to deny the Irani forwards on multiple occasions.
Boris Singh Thangjam - 5/10
Boris had an okay game, but he didn’t play to his abilities. He received a booking for stupidly kicking out at the opposition keeper while he was down. The defender displayed good strength to hold off some of the much larger and fitter Iranians. He switched from the left side to right-back after Rakip was taken off. He received a red card for poor challenge while already on a yellow.
Jitendra - 4/10
The centre-back did not have a good day. He was somewhat ineffective in the middle of the back line and looked a little lost in the middle of the action in his own box. Quite an unconvincing display.
Mohd Sarif Khan - 4.5/10
Khan was also disappointing today. Playing alongside Jitendra, both centre-backs were equally ineffective. He was taken off at the 70 minute mark.
Sanjeev Stalin - 6/10
Stalin displayed his burning pace today. He charged forward down the flank a few times, making some good penetrative runs, but his final ball was lacking, which let him down. He also took a free-kick in the later stages of the game, but miscued it terribly, sending it flying into the stands.
Suresh Singh Wangjam - 7.5/10
Suresh had a good game. He made some important tackles to break up threatening attacks. The captain showed off his range of passing, spraying the ball around with well-placed and nicely weighted long balls as well as short passes.
Amarjit Singh Kiyam - 5/10
Amarjit was average. He had a few poor touches to concede possession rather cheaply sometimes. He played some good forward passes, but his overall performance was underwhelming.
Komal Thatal - 7/10
Komal was quite good today. He had a great chance to score and put the game beyond reach for Tampines, but unfortunately couldn’t convert. The midfielder used his quick, slick feet to take some sweet touches to beat opposition defenders. He didn’t have the pace or strength to chase the opposing players down and win the ball back, but he certainly did try.
Mohd. Rakip - 6.5/10
Rakip put on a decent display in the first half, but was taken off at half time. He was beaten by his man on a few occasions, but managed to keep a cool head while under pressure, making good decisions to protect his goal.
Lalengmawia - 7/10
Lalengmawia started this game after coming off the bench in the previous fixture. He was impressive, and made a few good weaving runs to threaten the Iranian defence. The midfielder was one of the more creative forces in the Indian side, but was taken off at 65 minutes.
Khumanthem Meetei - 6.5/10
Khumanthem was alright. Another player who got to start this game after being named as a substitute in the previous game. He made use of his tricky feet to execute a beautiful turn to draw a foul and get the opponent booked. He also made some good runs off the ball, getting himself into some good positions.
Substitutes
Aniket - 6/10
Aniket was probably the best player in the game against Saudi Arabia, but he started this game on the bench. He entered the fray at half time with fresh legs, but he wasn’t able to impact the game to the same extent. He was lucky not to get a yellow card for a silly challenge. Aniket was quite energetic on the night, and did well to win a free kick in a good position. However, he was also responsible for conceding the second penalty with an unnecessary foul in the box.
Aman Chetri - 5.5/10
Chetri was also very effective against Saudi Arabia, but he wasn’t good enough in this game. While that may be partly down to the fact that he was brought on only in the 65th minute. It would have taken him some time to get up to speed an get a feel for the game, but that’s not sufficient justification to cover a poor performance. He was weak and easily pushed off the ball and bullied by the Iranians.
Narender - 4/10
Narender came on at the 70th minute and conceded a penalty within ten minutes. The resulting goal was the killer blow for India’s hopes of getting a win in the game. Other than that he didn’t really make any contribution of note.
