AFC Asian Cup 2023: India have a 'lot to learn' after 3-0 defeat to Uzbekistan, says Sunil Chhetri

India suffered a second consecutive defeat in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup competition on Thursday, following a 3-0 loss to Uzbekistan in Al Rayyan, and their talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri believes the Blue Tigers still have a “lot to learn”. On 13 January, the Igor Stimac-coached side had put on a resilient defensive display in the first half against Australia, but then went onto lose that contest with 2-0 margin following second-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Jordan Bos. AFC Asian Cup 2023: How India can still qualify for last 16? India, however, lacked that defensive stability against Uzbekistan and fell short on the final third. “We’ve improved a lot in the last five years, but there’s a lot to learn, especially when you play teams like these. It’s not easy when you face teams like Uzbekistan and Australia,” Sunil Chhetri said after the match. “The good thing is that the boys gave us whatever we had. We made some mistakes in the first half that cost us dearly. We now need to go back and watch the replays and figure out the areas where we need to improve,” added the 39-year-old. AFC Asian Cup 2023: India were underprepared for marauding Uzbekistan What’s even more worrying for India is that they haven’t scored a single goal in this tournament so far. India next face Syria in their final group match on Tuesday (23 January), but even a win won’t be enough as they would have to rely on other results to go in their favour. All India can do is, clinch the win against Syria with a big margin and hope they become one of the four best third-placed teams to qualify for the round of 16.