Asian Cup 2019: 5 things Former India Coach Stephen Constantine could have done better

#1 Tactics against Bahrain

Pronay Halder of India captained the game against Bahrain

There's a feeling of what could have been soon after India crashed out of the Asian Cup. India raised expectations with a 4-1 win over Thailand in their opener. The performance against UAE, albeit their 0-2 loss, assured everyone that India could make the knockouts for the first time.

On January 14, all that changed. Going into the game, India only needed a draw to qualify and that intent was clear from the first whistle.

Playing for a draw in a crucial game like that would only add pressure on your defenders. The Indian defence has to be applauded for holding on for 90 minutes - they showed faith in those strange tactics. The second the game went into added time, the defence crumbled. India conceded a penalty and lost the game.

For 90 minutes, Constantine asked his players to do the same thing - lob it to the other half and let your strikers do the work. It never worked in the first half. He changed personnel, bringing on Jeje Lalpekhlua for Ashique Kuruniyan.

He noticed it did not work for a majority of the second half too but not once did he ask his players to maintain their composure and build the play. India were always breaking on the counter and never once dominated possession.

By the end of the game, it showed that the thinking was flawed. India had zero shots on target.

It doesn't mean that the tactic is wrong, it's just that India do not have the right kind of players to execute that game. It worked against a team like Thailand as they were not as physically strong as the Indians, but the Bahrainis were different - they were strong and fast.

Constantine should have been flexible. The Indians should have tried something different to adapt to the game of their opponents.

But they continued doing the same thing and suffered.