India knocked out of AFC Asian Cup: 7 Lessons learnt

India have been knocked out of the AFC Asian Cup after losing all three of their group stage matches. India have failed to qualify for the knockout stages for the fifth time. The Asian dream has once again been snuffed out with a whimper. There is no way to sugarcoat this fact and neither am I interested in doing so.

Over the course of the group stage, India scored zero, conceded six goals, and only managed 4 shots on target throughout. While I won’t get into the Expected goals & assists statistics, they are even more damning. The only positives to take from this campaign is the brilliant first half defensive display against Australia in the first match. Against Uzbekistan, Indian players showed their naivety and inexperience at the top stage to concede three first half goals. While there were flashes of good attacking play, the forwards often dithered on the ball or tried to play one pass too many.

Despite all that, going into the final group match, India had a good chance to progress into the knockouts if they could defeat Syria. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. The Syrians had been resolute in their campaign, holding Uzbekistan to a stalemate and then pushing the Aussies before ultimately losing to a penalty. Their players have experience playing in different leagues and have used that experience to their advantage.

India started the game brightly, managing to even create some early chances. The match was a largely entertaining affair with tackles flying and players giving it their all. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was blamed for the loss against Australia, single handedly kept India in the game with his saves while Sandesh Jhingan again put up a monstrous performance. However, Jhingan’s injury in the 47th minute marked a turning point (in my opinion) with the FC Goa defender being withdrawn. From there on, it was a pretty much one sided affair, with the Syrians largely maintaining control and creating chances. They were rewarded in the 76th minute with forward Omar Khribin scoring after creating space for himself in a tightly marked box which sent the Syrian side into wild celebrations.

In contrast, the Blue Tigers seemed clueless in the final third and their midfield seemed almost non-existent. The players seemed ill suited to playing in the system and the coaching staff were unable to change the game from the bench. It would not be an understatement to say that this campaign was overall miserable. The only positive that I would consider is the passion shown by the fans. They showed up in numbers to support India and were noisy even when the team looked lost on the pitch.

It would be easy to blame the players, the managers, AIFF, ISL, and even the government. While the criticism is valid, it also doesn’t paint the whole picture. The truth is Indian football has suffered from decades of neglect and mismanagement which the current stakeholders have chosen to correct through band aids and short term measures. At a time when many countries are actively focusing on improving their level of football, India is still hesitating to take long term measures to get to those levels. To borrow from former Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick, “an operation of the open heart” is required to get Indian football back on track. Keeping that in mind, here are 7 lessons learnt from India’s AFC Asian Cup 2023 campaign:

1. Poor preparations – Even before the tournament had begun, the lack of preparation time given to the National team was well acknowledged. Stakeholders and clubs of the Indian Super league (ISL) refused to release players until the final round of fixtures in the last week of December. While differences between leagues and national federations are common across the world, what makes this worse is that all Indian national team players play only in the ISL. Unlike other countries who have players playing in multiple leagues, an agreement between ISL and AIFF to release players early should have been straightforward. The results were on display as India were outplayed in all three matches (albeit in a tough group).
2. India needs to replace Sunil Chettri ASAP – The Indian captain has been a wonderful servant and is the third highest active goal scorer in the world. However, watching him over the last 10 days, one couldn’t help but wish he had been 10 years younger. The game often passed by the veteran forward as he was bereft of service from the wingers. At the age of 39, this is probably his last Asian Cup. Other strikers in the ISL have failed to replace his goal output and talent with no plan in place to create future talent. Replacing players of his caliber requires long term thinking which AIFF just seems to have realized.
3. Indian football has fans – When sports is mentioned in India, cricket is the default choice for fans. Then you have sports like Kabaddi and wrestling which have a dedicated fan base. Football fans in India generally seemed more interested in European football and world cups. However, fans have proven they care just as much about Indian football in the last few years. The highlight of the Asian Cup, something even international commentators have acknowledged, is the passionate Indian support in Qatar. Indian fans took over the stadiums and ensured the team was always loudly cheered, even when things looked bad. As India takes a more nationalistic turn, this fan support will only increase in fervor. It is now the job of the various stakeholders to ensure that this support is rewarded with the right decisions.
4. India lacks experience at top level – One common feature in all three matches was the naivety shown by Indian players when faced against top level opponents. The midfield was very easily bypassed while full backs seemed to be in two minds whether to attack or defend. Forwards often found themselves isolated when on the ball or spent too long when a cross or a shot was the best option. Football is a global sport and the top countries realize the need to expose their players to international leagues. However, Indian players have no experience beyond ISL and SAFF. Atmanirbhar Bharat is good for other sectors, but for a sport like football, you need to leverage the experience that can only be gained from playing abroad. This is a major reason why both India and China have struggled in international tournaments. Perhaps, drafting Players of Indian Origin (PIO) could help with that in the short term.
5. India needs to move on from SAFF and ISL – For a very long time, football in India meant SAFF Cup. Fans and AIFF alike basked in the glory of beating other South Asian teams. Then came the ISL which has helped globalize Indian football to an extent. However, both competitions are severely limiting in the top level exposure they give to players due to their closed nature. They cannot possibly simulate the standards of Asia’s best. It is important to develop both these competitions but the obsession with them needs to end for Indian football to move forward. For starters, Indian players should be encouraged to play in top leagues of Asia and Europe. This is not going to happen in the next 2 years but probably over the span of 10 years or more. This brings me to the two most important lessons for Indian football.
6. Focus on the wrong goals – While it is good that the Head Coach has his sights set on reaching the third round of the FIFA qualifiers, it shouldn’t be the main priority for AIFF. While I like Kalyan Chaubey, I also feel that he is more interested in papering over the cracks rather than taking the right decisions for the long term. I earlier mentioned that not a single Indian player in the team was playing outside India or in any of the top leagues around the world. This means we are not developing top players at the youngest levels. It is easy to blame the coaching staff, and AIFF for the situation, but this is just the mess inherited from decades of neglect. Great coaching can only do so much when the technical skills of current players are limited. AIFF needs to aggressively focus on improving grassroot football. While formation of Baby leagues and AIFF academies is a step in the right direction, a lot more needs to be done. India should aim to win the AFC U17 Cup in next 10 years or at least aim for a podium finish. Once that is achieved, qualifying for the world cup would be a formality. The governing bodies need to rip the old playbook apart and adopt a more ambitious approach to actually make any progress. The time to shift focus away from short term gains to turn India into a world class footballing country.
7. Indian football needs an overarching identity to match the vision – What kind of football is to be played across all levels? What type of players do we require in the next 10 years? How to improve coaching and refereeing standards in the country? These are just some of the questions that need to be considered before taking decisions. A combination of many steps is required to achieve the grand vision stated in the AIFF vision 2047 document. For starters, ISL and AIFF need to resolve differences regarding players. Furthermore, AIFF needs to determine how they want to see India approach games to determine what kind of players are needed. All stakeholders, even at the bottom of the pyramid, need to be taken in confidence to set expectations. Work with coaches of the national team and ISL clubs to identify gaps where required. Youth players as young as 6 years should be identified and developed with a focus on international U17 and U19 tournaments in the next 10 years. These goals would also be realistic enough for fans, media, governments, and corporate sponsors to get behind.

India has been referred to as a slumbering giant that has just awoken. While there have been some positives in the last few years, India still has a long way to go before challenging the big boys of Asia. There is no denying the AFC Asian Cup exit is a bitter pill to swallow. Hopefully, as a friend of mine put it, it leads to some really mature and structured conversations around Indian football. We can debate about the players and the manager, but unless the foundations and systems are set in place, the debate will never end.