 "Winger Farukh Choudhary scored the first goal since Manolo Marquez's appointment as India head coach during the friendly match against Vietnam. Image credit: All India Football Federation")
The year 2024 has been a significant one in Indian football with legendary forward Sunil Chhetri bidding goodbye to international football. The Blue Tigers also got a new coach in FC Goa boss Manolo Marquez following the All India Football Federation’s decision to remove Igor Stimac from the post following a string of poor results.
India, however, are yet to collect a victory in what has been a landmark year for them so far. After disappointing results in the AFC Asian Cup in January as well as the FIFA World Cup Qualifier AFC Second Round in March and June, India had hoped to start afresh under Marquez in the Intercontinental Cup last month.
The Blue Tigers, however, failed to score a single goal in the three-team tournament, settling for a goalless draw against Mauritius before suffering a 0-3 hammering at the hands of Syria.
India had hoped for a change of fortune in their away friendly against Vietnam on Saturday – their only outing of the October international break.
Though they could only manage another draw, their fourth of the year, the 1-1 stalemate against the Golden Star Warriors at the Thiên Trường Stadium in Nam Định felt like an improvement for the Indian team in some ways.
As It Happened | India vs Vietnam, international friendly in Nam Dinh
Here are some of the key takeaways for India from their draw against Vietnam:
Farukh shines as a striker
Making his first appearance for the Blue Tigers in three years, Farukh Choudhary stole the limelight in the friendly against Vietnam with a 53rd minute equaliser after Bui Vi Hao put the hosts in the lead in the 38th minute. Not only was it the first goal scored by the Indian team score Marquez’ appointment as head coach and only the third of the year, it was also the first goal by an Indian striker scored from open play.
Farukh, though, could have ended the day with more goals; he had, after all, come close to putting India in the lead in the early stages of the fixture with a solid left-footed strike from outside the box in the eighth minute.
Gurpreet proves his worth and helps India secure draw
It wasn’t just Farukh though who stood out among the Indians in action on Saturday though, with goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu making a number of fine saves during the match. That includes the Bengaluru FC custodian saving a penalty after diving correctly to his left and easily collecting Que Ngoc Hai’s weak shot.
Sandhu later pulled off a series of sharp saves in the last 15 minutes of regulation time when the Vietnamese forwards suddenly sprang back into action after switching off in the first part of the second half. That included one in the 79th minute in which he punched a powerful shot by Van Vu To from inside the box away for a corner.
Indian defence badly miss Sandesh Jhingan
Choudhary and Sandhu’s positives aside, an important takeaway for the Indian team from their performance against Vietnam at the Thien Truong Stadium was the fact that they still have a lot of work to do when it comes to their defence.
A key reason why Sandhu was such a busy man on Saturday evening was the frequent breakdown of India’s defence, with the home team mounting multiple waves of attacks in the first half and in the last 15 minutes of regulation time and frequently finding themselves inside the Indian penalty area. The Indian defenders kept losing shape and were heavily reliant on last-ditch tackles.
The Blue Tigers certainly did miss FC Goa centre-back Sandesh Jhingan in their back-line, but will need to find a way to shore up their defence without him by having enough quality reserves in their side.
Manolo takes another step in reaching his preferred playing XI
It’s still early days for Manolo Marquez as India coach with the Blue Tigers having played just three matches since the Spaniard took over from former Croatia defender Stimac.
Marquez, however, appears to be settling nicely into the job and moving ever closer towards settling on in ideal starting XI, bringing Choudhary back into the sides besides handing several debuts.