A disappointing display from India last night saw the Men in Blue lose 1-0 to Qatar as Abdulaziz Hatem scored in the first half after Rahul Bheke was sent off within 17 minutes of the game. The home team managed 38 shots in total compared to India’s one as the pressure continues to grow on head-coach Igor Stimac.
Let’s have a look at the player ratings for yesterday’s match.
India
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu- 7.5
Undoubtedly the Man of the Match from India’s perspective, Gurpreet managed to save every one of Qatar’s shots on target bar one as the Indian goalkeeper dropped a fantastic performance to keep the scoreline to a respectable tally of 1-0.
Rahul Bheke- 3.0
The Indian international was sent off in the 17th minute after a reckless tackle on a Qatari player followed by a handball a few minutes later. Bheke’s second yellow can be questionable, but with his experience, it would have been expected that he was a bit more responsible.
Shubhashish Bose- 5.5
Bose found it difficult on the left-hand side to keep up with Hatem and Fadlalla and ended up as the player with the most minimal touches on the ball despite playing the full 90 minutes.
Sandesh Jhingan- 6.5
The pillar of Indian defense, Sandesh Jhingan, dropped a fantastic performance at the back winning duels and clearing any threat launched by the Qatari forwards.
Pritam Kotal- 5.5
Pritam Kotal dropped a decent performance at the back but was caught off guard multiple times by the Qatari forwards.
Glan Martins- 6.0
Replacing Rowlin Borges, who was out with an injury, Glan Martins ended up with a solid performance in the midfield in his National team debut. Dropping deep whenever needed, he helped Jhingan and co in defense and connected them with the forwards to create counterattack chances.
Ashique Kuruniyan- 5.5
Being played as a left-wing-back, Ashique was largely limited to a defensive role against Qatar. His most notable contribution in the attack was when he made a daunting run into Qatar’s box before being dispossessed.
Suresh Wangjam- 5.5
Another player who failed to show his attacking prowess due to the coach’s tactics, Suresh Wangjam, was present largely outside his box, clearing balls and helping the defenders for the 84 minutes he played.
Manvir Singh- 5.5
Throughout the match, Manvir Singh was the only player who posed a real threat to the Qatari defense as he managed to create chances but failed to convert any of them to something fruitful. Qatar’s combination of rock-solid defensive play and his inefficiency at finishing chances contributed to a disappointing day.
Sunil Chhetri- 4.5
Coming off from a long layoff, captain Chhetri looked rusty in the 45 minutes he played as Igor Stimac decided to sub him off at halftime.
Bipin Singh- 4.5
Bipin struggled to get past Fadlalla for most of the game, but he ended up creating two chances to score, but the Indian forwards failed to convert either of them.
Substitutions
Udanta Singh – 4.5
Lalengmawia Apuia – 4.5
Akash Mishra – 4.5
Sahal Abdul Samad – Unrated
Liston Colaco – Unrated