Blunder-ridden India pay the price, lose 0-3 to Vietnam
Blunder-ridden India pay the price, lose 0-3 to Vietnam: The Indian side fell behind Vietnam in the 10th minute of the international friendly and managed only one shot on goal in the opening 20 minutes of play.
India gave up three goals to Vietnam when captain Sandesh Jhingan collided with goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Anwar Ali misread a header, and substitute Rahul KP’s clearance attempt was unsuccessful.
Stadium
On Tuesday at the Thng Nht Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, the Indian national team lost a friendly international match due to three separate errors. Vietnam ranked 97th in the world and, just above India, won their opening game 4-0 against Singapore.
The Indians have struggled to a 1-1 draw against the same team.
Undoubtedly, Vietnam’s national framework, which places a premium on private investments in establishing academies and grassroots football, contributed to the team’s excellent performance.
Even in the first 10 minutes of the game, it was evident that Vietnam was the superior team.
They arrived planning to maintain control for an extended amount of time, regardless of the need to retreat and reorganize.
When the Indian defense shut down a possible scoring opportunity, the ball was quickly sent back to the keeper, who immediately started another offensive push.
It was no surprise when they scored within 10 minutes of the game beginning.
Sandhu
When Sandesh Jhingan attempted to clear a corner kick taken by Nguyen Cong Phuong, he collided with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the goal.
Sandhu could not get his hands on the ball after Jhingan’s clearing. Sandhu, returning to his post after colliding with Jhinghan, conceded a goal when Vietnam’s Phan Van Duc attempted a left-footed half volley from within the area.
With 80 minutes remaining, India was already behind by one goal. After 20 minutes of play, they finally put together a decent offensive sequence in which they moved the ball into the opposing half thanks to some crisp passing.
Still, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity because of their impatience and a poor cross from the left that went to absolutely no one. If the forward passing stats were achieved, the final third play was designed to bring everyone back to reality rapidly.
Score
They were in the other half within the next six minutes, outnumbered 5 to 4. Nonetheless, Ashique Kuruniyan’s left-footed attempt missed the target.
If the shot had been taken, it would have been a pass to captain Sunil Chhetri or a cut-back to Sahal Abdul Samad; instead, the ball was kicked away and the score stayed 1-0 for Vietnam.
A minute and a half later, Samad had the ball and a defender on the left side of the Vietnamese penalty area. The Kerala Blasters midfielder shifted his weight, causing his defender to fall to the ground, and then fired a shot that was saved by the keeper’s near post.
After blocking the attempt, India kept looking for a way to tie the score. Just before halftime, India had their greatest scoring opportunity of the first half.
Left-back Akash Mishra sent in a perfectly weighted cross, and Chhetri was all alone in the box with no Vietnamese defenders to bother him.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of Vietnam after the Indian captain sent a header narrowly wide of the target. India’s performance improved as the game progressed, but their emphasis on a counter-based approach prevented them from getting the most out of their roster.
Ali part
Vietnam scored first in the second half, just as they had done in the first. And again, Vietnam capitalized on an Indian blunder, this time on Anwar Ali’s part.
Ali should have headed out a long clearance from within Vietnam’s half, but he completely missed it, giving Nguyn Văn Toàn plenty of open to run into and slide the ball past Sandhu for a 2-0 Vietnam lead.
In the 70th minute, Nguyen Van Quyet scored Vietnam’s third goal of the night after Rahul KP attempted to clear the ball into the box but failed and was subsequently out of position to prevent the shot from getting past Sandhu.
As the night wore on, the home team came closer and closer to scoring, but Sandhu kept the ball out of his net each time.
The Indian side lost any determination they may have had early in the match as time ran out.
Even after making several substitutes and realizing they had the game in the bag, they didn’t let up in intensity. In the end, they won the event with a 7-0 goal differential (scoring seven and allowing none), whereas India went 1-1 (conceding four) in their two games.