India 2- 0 Mongolia: 3 things we learned | Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023

India played Mongolia in their opening game of the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar on Friday and came up with a 2-0 win.

The Intercontinental Cup is being played before the SAFF Cup, and India is using this tournament as preparation for the SAFF Championship.

The hosts are the favourites to win the Intercontinental Cup being the best-ranked team.

Igor Stimac looked to experiment with the playing eleven in the game yesterday to determine his best eleven before the Asian Cup and SAFF Championship.

The match started with the Blue Tigers getting a corner in the very first minute. India took the lead in the second minute when Anirudh Thapa's cross was fisted by the Mongolian keeper which fell to Sahal Abdul Samad, who made no mistake in giving the Blue Tigers the lead.

Lalianzuala Chhangte made it 2-0 for the Blue Tigers in the 14th minute from a corner. Sandesh Jhingan's header was cleared off the line before Chhangte made no mistake in tapping the ball into the back of the net.

The Blue Tigers failed to make use of the chances that came their way after taking a two-goal lead.

Mongolia failed to take advantage of the few chances that came their way.

The scoreboard at half-time read 2-0 in favour of the hosts.

The second half started with Igor Stimac's side looking to extend their lead while Mongolia were in search of a goal to get them back into the tie.

However, both sides failed to make use of the chances that came their way. The hosts would particularly be annoyed with the way they played in the second half.

The match ended with the scoreboard reading 2-0 in favor of the hosts.

On that note, let's take a look at three things we learned from yesterday's game.

#3 India won the game but disappointed with the overall performance

Sahal was the bright sprak in a otherwise dull performance (Image courtesy: AIFF Media)

While India won their opening game of the Intercontinental Cup, Igor Stimac won't be a happy man seeing the quality of football displayed by his side.

India should have won the game by a bigger margin, but they failed to make use of the chances that came their way.

The Blue Tigers failed to control the midfield properly and create the number of chances they would have liked to create.

Stimac would hope that his side could make proper use of the chances that come their way in the upcoming games. Sahal Abdul Samad's performance though, will be a huge boost for Igor Stimac.

#2 Udanta Singh and Sunil Chhetri fail to impress

Udanta failed to live upto expectations today (Image courtesy: AIFF Media)

Udanta started the game on the right flank with Sunil Chhetri playing as the striker up front for the Blue Tigers in the game yesterday. Udanta got space to exploit from the first minute of the game itself but failed to utilize them in a proper manner.

Sunil Chhetri had a quiet game as he didn't have much to do and failed to get his name on the scorecard.

Udanta particularly will be disappointed with his performance as he got ample opportunity to run through the defense and failed to create any such opportunities for the attackers.

#1 India needs to get their finishing in place before the SAFF Cup and Asian Cup

The Blue tigers need to up their finishing if they want to win the intercontinental cup (Image courtesy: AIFF Media)

India started the game on a positive note creating their first good chance in the first minute itself.

The Blue Tigers took the lead in the second minute and doubled their lead in the 14th-minute courtesy of a Chhangte finish from a corner.

The Blue Tigers though, had a couple of more chances to increase their lead but failed to convert them. The link-up play in the final third of the pitch looked to be lacklustre. With the main striker Sunil Chhetri failing to get his name on the scoresheet, the Indian national team will be worried about the goal-scoring options upfront.

The Indian defense was not tested much today and it is something we cannot properly judge after today's game.