Sunil Chhetri Double in Vain, Tajikistan Beat India 4-2 in Intercontinental Cup - Highlights

10’ Adil went off position there a bit. Went in with a sliding tackle, misses the ball and then chased the ball for no reason. India concede a corner.

11’ From which Tajikistan do nothing, but India launch a counter. Udanta sprints away on the right, and does he sprint away!!! Chhetri sprints into position in the centre, but Udanta can’t get the ball to him. India corner. End to end stuff this…

12’ India waste the corner away. Then concede the ball in midfield. India are doing well to pressure Tajikistan in midfield and keep sending them backwards. The problem though, is that whenever they win the ball they’re attempting some ‘Hollywood’ stuff, which isn’t the best idea. Simple stuff may do.

14’ Tajikistan tiki taka. India doing the Inter thing. Sit back, occasionally pressure, use the counter.

16’ Keeping Chhetri stranded up front is not the best strategy, though. It is something we have said multiple times on our show -- it’s called 420 grams, and if you haven’t seen it, then what do you watch when you’re bored? Chhetri thrives on the ball. He isn’t the player who plays with his back to goal. Don’t leave him on that island guys.

18’ Tajikistan have a chance. And they’ve missed it. Barotov jumps on a mistake by Narender, who misjudges the bounce. The striker has a couple of yards of space and Gurpreet in no man’s land. He drags it wide off the far post. That was close.

19’ Tajikistan with all the attacking play now. They win a corner. Waste it.

20’ Getting to a header isn’t about height, it’s about intent. Chhetri gets to headers against the Tajikistani players because he has greater intent. On the other hand, the Tajikistanis cover the second ball perfectly, so they know they don’t have to win the first header. Especially in the areas Chhetri is left stranded in.

22’ Bheke concedes a freekick near the halfway line and gets booked for his troubles. There was perhaps no need for that one. He lost the ball, and in a rush of blood, lunged in. On second look it does look like he got the ball. Let’s not have VAR please. We don’t. Thank god.

Meanwhile, in Lyon, it’s national anthem time ahead of the Final of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, between USA and the Netherlands. 

24’ Since we are in a Post Constantine world, it is necessary to remind everyone of what the Constantine world currently looks like. India’s ex coach shared a picture of him signing a copy of his autobiography on Instagram today. The caption is a real piece of work. Very subtle.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signing a copy of my book #delhitotheden

A post shared by Stephen Constantine (@stephenconstantine) on Jul 7, 2019 at 3:22am PDT

25’ Back to the game, Bheke runs on to an Udanta release and crosses into the box. The ball is a little too high for Chhetri, who jumps and heads it over. Intent, again, triumphs inches.

27’ There is enough football on today across the world to convince all cricket fans that THIS IS THE BEST SPORT IN THE WORLD. The Gold Cup final and the Copa America final kick off later. The Women’s World Cup final… Intercontinental Cup opener… Your eyes could bleed football tonight.

30’ Back to the game. Chhetri’s penalty still separates the two sides. Tajikistan have a freekick about 30 yards out, to the left, but it is fired straight into Gurpreet’s grateful arms.

Megan Rapinoe summed it up pretty well ahead of the Women’s World Cup Final, though. She had a comment on scheduling and the sort of thought going into that process. A World Cup final, in any situation, is a “cancel everything else day”. Except, it seems, if it’s a women’s world cup. Cannot imagine a similar scheduling conflict if this was the men’s game. This reflects the care and thought that needs to be put into women’s football.

32’ Tajikistan holding a lot of possession, and keep dragging the ball wide. But India have held firm. They are winning the ball back in crucial areas and releasing it appropriately. It’s turning into a bit of a nothing game now.

35’ Gurpreet heroically dives to avoid conceding a corner, but makes a mess of it and almost let’s Rahimov sneak in. He recovers quickly though. No harm done.

37’ Sahal loses the ball in midfield. Caught in possession, and Tajikistan come attacking again. They have a corner. Adil Khan acrobatically clears, and then slides into the Tajikistan attacker looking to pounce on a stray ball in the box. In the replay it looks like a penalty, but it isn’t given. Thank heavens for no VAR.

40’ Tajikistan have sort of parked themselves in India’s half. They are probing, constantly, but there is no one in the box who can score the goal. Not enough intent in the final third.