New Delhi: In their 2-0 defeat to Thailand, India’s under-confidence in front of the opposition goal begged pointed attention. Not for the first time did India manage to foozle chances that should be put-away with routine precision in international football.
Failure to do so brings added pressure on the Indian defence, which they aren’t capable of coping. While these attributes are common for India in every outing now, Thailand showed how much they have improved in this aspect to be 28 slots ahead in the FIFA rankings.
They got an early goal after moving the ball at pace to create space in between India’s central defenders Sandesh Jhinghan and Anwar Ali for Benjamin Davis to slot the ball into the far corner on eight minutes.
That put them at ease and the Indians on the backfoot, which they struggled to wriggle out of through intricate passing.
The Thai boys targetted full backs Asish Rai and Tekcham Abhishek Singh and went beyond them into the danger zone to pull apart Ali and Jhinghan from their aim of crowding out the front of goal.
India were unable to break through their pressing in the early phase but gradually weathered the onslaught to create sighters at their opposition goal.
Chances missed
Liston Colaco’s inviting free-kick was flicked on by Sunil Chhetri to force a diving save from Thai keeper Chanon Tamma. Towards the end of the first session, Chhetri returned the favour with a precise through that had Colaco only Tamma to beat.
But the Mohun Bagan forward hit straight into the legs of the advancing keeper to keep India behind 1-0 at the break. In between these two moments was Aashique Kuruniyan’s inability to push COlaco’s squared pass from the byline after slipping past his marker.
Had any one of these attempts gone in, it could have bolstered belief of Manolo Marquez’s boys in the second half. Instead, they remained in their shell as Thailand again began to move the ball sharply and look to create space by running behind the full backs.
A tough day in the office for the #BlueTigers, but lessons learnt for the next one.#THAIND #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/wM6K21N3OG
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 4, 2025
As India trailed they pushed up, squeezing the length of the ground at the cost of leaving vast spaces in their half. Thailand knew how to exploit that with quick releases behind India’s last defender Jhinghan.
India keper Vishal Kaith advanced beyond his box to mop up on a couple of actions but on 59 minutes, Poramet Arjvirai kept him rooted to his spot and curled the ball in into the bottom corner.
It was a skill that substitute Lallianzuala Chhangte couldn’t display when he was through on goal and had Tamma at is mercy. That miss confirmed that India would again fail to score.
They were fortunate not to concede more as some last-ditch defending and profligacy kept the scoreline at 2-0 to make India’s preparation for the crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on June 10 hardly an ideal one.
India went down 2-0 to Thailand in an international friendly on Wednesday ahead of their AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
