King's Cup 2023: Two defeats give India the right perspective ahead of AFC Asian Cup

India captain on the night, Sandesh Jhingan, was engrossed in analysing the game when his concentration was broken by some very loud music being played on a bluetooth speaker by Lebanon players who had just entered the mixed zone, an area usually reserved for the post-match interviews. Having won the 2023 King’s Cup bronze medal with a 1-0 win over India, their first over the Blue Tigers in four attempts this year, the Lebanese players cared little for protocol. You couldn’t begrudge them for the celebrations, but it says how highly they regard India as an opponent. “This the difference. Two years ago, they wouldn’t be celebrating like this,” Jhingan said reacting to the loud music. “A country like Lebanon who thinks they are better than us, in the last three months we showed them who is the boss.” That post-match moment in many ways encapsulated what the King’s Cup campaign meant for the Indian football team. It underlined the growing stature of the Blue Tigers among the West Asian teams; earlier this year in the SAFF Championship, India for the first time defeated two West Asian nations (Lebanon and Kuwait) back-to-back to win the title. But it was also a moment in which the Indian team weren’t the winners.

WE WILL RETURN 💪🏼

Two narrow defeats in #49thKingsCup2023 🏆 won't deter us from pursuing our goal.#BlueTigers 🐯 will continue to make everyone dream 💙🇮🇳#LBNIND ⚔️ #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/ap4jzLgGzu

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 10, 2023

Two games in the King’s Cup, two defeats, with the first one coming against world No. 70 Iraq, the Thailand tournament has done a lot of good for India, in showing them where they need to improve and giving them a perspective of the challenges that awaits them. With an 11-game unbeaten streak at home in 2023 and three titles, while playing with a swagger, the Blue Tigers had done enough to show they were a much-improved side than what they were four years ago when head coach Igor Stimac took up the reins, but the ultimate target is the AFC Asian Cup. And there the Blue Tigers will face their biggest challenge yet. Drawn against Australia (World No. 38), Uzbekistan (74) and Syria (94) in a tough group, India will be the underdogs and will have to be at their best to secure positive results. And all this has to be done away from the comforts of home. That’s the major reason the All India Football Federation (AIFF) lined up tournaments like the King’s Cup and Merdeka Cup before the AFC Asian Cup. To give Indian team enough matches to prepare, experience the pressure of playing away from home, and sort out their combinations.

"Genuinely hope it was not offside, genuinely hope it was not a foul on Anwar. From what I saw, it was clear foul on Anwar. Felt it was an offside as well. If you lose two games on such decisions, I wouldn't let my boys feel bad about it"

Jhingan on Lebanon's goal & India's loss pic.twitter.com/aCr17518kX

— Ujwal (@UjwalKS) September 10, 2023

The King’s Cup in that context has come as a reality check. It showed that India can be competitive against some of the best teams in Asia, but it also showed, that your best might not be enough in international football. The level of competition is just unforgiving. “It’s (Asian Cup preparations) going well. Of course, you feel disappointed when you lose a game but when you take a backseat and look at what we play these games; to play on foreign soil, in difficult conditions, and test yourself. We played against Iraq who are seventh in Asia and we almost beat them,” Jhingan said reflecting on the King’s Cup campaign. “You play these games to test yourselves and see where you are. I think we are on a really good track, we are improving a lot. I have a lot of positive feelings (based on) the way we are going. Just keep believing, and stay positive. Decisions will go away against you every now and then but I am super proud.” Sunil Chhetri missed the tournament due to personal reasons. Despite his absence, India scored two goals from open play against Iraq, with Naorem Mahesh Singh scoring arguably the goal of the tournament. India saw less of the ball but were better in attack. Iraq, meanwhile, scored from spot kicks.

What a goal from Naorem Mahesh Singh 🔥pic.twitter.com/hbv7ca9Zw2#IRQIND

— 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗵. 🦊 (@Fatbatman08) September 7, 2023

Against Lebanon, India dominated the possession (55%) and the attacking stats. It was an acrobatic back volley from Kassem Al Zein that helped Lebanon clinch the victory, but had India taken their chances, the story could have been a lot different. Manvir Singh had a header flying over the bar. Anirudh Thapa escaped the defensive line for a lobbed ball but wasn’t able to score. The two games showed that India can create chances against strong opposition but have to be lethal. Else, the punishment can be a defeat. Against Iraq, India twice took the lead but failed to close the match out with the Lions of Mesopotamia finding the second equaliser 10 minutes from time - before winning the game on penalties. King’s Cup 2023: A loss that feels almost like a win for India against Iraq As the 90-minute mark edged closer, with history in sight, India got too cautious. They started venturing out less, putting more pressure on themselves which resulted in a mistake and a penalty that crushed their hopes. Yes, there were doubts surrounding the penalty call and there were doubts regarding the Lebanon goal being offside, but refereeing is something that you can’t control. What you can control, however, is your game. The transformation of the Blue Tigers under Stimac has been laid on the principles of being aggressive and that’s something they shouldn’t move away from. Stay positive, stay ruthless, stay upbeat; that in a nutshell is what India should take away from the King’s Cup 2023.