Highlights - Bangladesh Hold India 1-1 in FIFA World Cup Qualifier

86’ Brandon releases Ashique into half a yard of space down the left. The Kerala boy does nicely to swerve from hs marker and get into the box, but runs out of space.

87’ Chhetri is in protest about a push by Bishwanath in the box. He doesn’t go down and the push was only meant to distract him from an aerial ball. It did its job.

88’ CHHETRI!!!!!! He has a pop from inside the box, a volley on the rise, but it is headed off the line. India have a corner!! Brandon delivers and…..

89’ ADIL KHAN!!!!!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!!!!!! HE GETS THE EQUALISER!!! The ball comes to the near post and Adil rises and heads it in. Football is a simple enough game.

89’ And India almost score the winner!! India win the ball from the restart. Chhetri gets it at the top of the box. Chhetri skips past one, he skips past two. But his shot is weak and straight at the keeper.

There will be five minutes of added time.

90’ + 1’ Adil Khan has had perhaps the craziest game he could’ve hoped for. He’s made mistakes he’s been forgiven for. He crashed into Gurpreet for Bangladesh’s opener. He got a goalline clearance. And he’s got the equaliser, that has caused the stands to crash down. The noise is deafening.

90’ + 3’ Ashique pops a cross in out of nothing. Just before that, Adil made a mess of a routine header near the halfway line, that somehow found its way to Gurpreet.

90’ + 4’ Manvir has a pop. Long ball from Raynier is laid off by Chhetri in the box. Manvir gets it first time with his left foot, and it goes high and wide.

90’ + 5’ Peep peep peeeeeeeeeep. The points are shared. India will be happy because they have managed to get a point right at the end, despite looking sub standard throughout the game. This was not what was expected of them. Our octupii predictions couldn’t have been more wrong. Bangladesh will be happy to have gotten a point in Kolkata. They put in a superb performance. Chhetri’s face says it all. It is sweaty. It is a little relieved. It is highly disappointed. That´s it from us.

Stimac says, ‘ We have a bright future. We provided a lot of excitement, football excitement for the fans. This is the future for India. It will be offensive, it will be modern it will be attacking. We are on our way. Our strategy was quick passing from the back and opening of the channels, but we were slow out of the back today.’

Not quite sure India were modern and attacking today. Modern football requires high pressing, energetic football. India didn’t have that for a majority of the game. Modern attacking football is about recycling possession quickly. They didn’t. They were offensive. Offensive in the manner they thought of Bangladesh. Arrogant too. There was very little creativity in the final third and almost all the danger posed came via set pieces. Ashraful literally made two crucial saves in the game. One off a long distance shot by Sahal and the second off a header by Manvir from a throw in. 

Stimac also highlights how India were not disciplined in defence and how Jhingan’s absence could hurt. He is hoping Anas comes back strongly.

1. Money can't buy you love. India's rich boys have been taught that lesson by a resolute Bangladesh side that must be a little disappointed at not having taken all three points. 

2. Having now seen Stimac's sides play all sorts of opposition it is very apparent he has very little in terms of tactical acumen. He is, perhaps, a good PR man. Maybe, and we do not know this because we are not privy to what happens in the dressing room, he is also a good motivator. If the AIFF do not demand serious answers, there is something terribly wrong. The senior national team, men or women, cannot go into games just hoping for the best. 

3. In the context of the October 14 "roadmap" this game assumes far greater significance. It's clear, despite the optimism and big talk, that nothing has changed. Questions of league structure, commercial partnerships and ownership of Indian football need to be examined seriously and transparently. Not with the opacity of FSDL, which the AIFF has also now taken to. The federation needs to assert control and push for change. Instead, it is behaving in a manner that is both subservient and unimaginative. 

4. It's well past time for Praful Patel to vacate the position of president. He has no idea about the sport and, if allowed to continue, will ensure football in the country goes ten steps back for every one forward. If you have any questions about his capability and intent, please google "Praful Patel + Air India." 

5. In our preview we spoke about the crucial role of the midfield here. We also said that the defensive setup will be new and will concede at least one. Unfortunately, both points came true. Without Borges, and with no-one stepping up to take his spot, there was no pivot. The rest, we say. The team shouldn't take it too hard, though. Bangladesh were good for their point and there plenty of time to get this qualifying run back on track. 

6. India will not play the 2022 World Cup. For all those saying we are negative, etc. We hope this is a reality check. Goodnight and good luck.

   -- Siddhanth Aney