The Indian U-23 team started their AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers with a 2-1 win over Oman at the Fujairah Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. The Blue Colts are in group E along with Kyrgyz Republic, Oman and hosts UAE. This win against Oman was very crucial as India needed to start well.
The Blue Colts started the game with a bang as Suresh Singh Wangjam’s picture-perfect ball found Vikram Pratap in space inside the penalty area. But the youngster was brought down illegally by the Omani goalkeeper allowing India to take the lead through the subsequent penalty. Rahim Ali stepped up and made no mistake as India secured an early lead.
Once they got the goal, it was mostly about holding the fort and attacking on the counters using the pace of Rahul KP Vikram Pratap on either flank. India doubled their lead when a quick transitional move saw Rahim Ali laying out for Vikram Pratap and the Mumbai City man calmly slotted it past the goalkeeper to double the lead. Although India did not see much off the ball, they defended with all their might and it was only in injury time that Oman managed to pull one back.
Speaking about the tactics, Igor Stimac explained how the forwards played a role in creating opportunities to counter. He said, “Our forwards put pressure on their defensive midfielders which helped us to do counter attacks. All credit to the boys. They did not have proper preparation for this. They were disciplined tactically, that’s what makes me happy as a coach.”
However the word from the Croatian tactician is clear, he wants his team to stay humble as the job at hand is still not over. India needs to keep up the good work against the Kyrgyz Republic and UAE to qualify for the main event. For now, Stimac is focused on the recovery of his players.
“We are going to stay humbled. This is just one game and we have two more games to go. We have to see how the boys recover as I am not sure how much energy they have for the rest of the games.”
The Blue Colts will recoup and gather themselves again as they will play the United Arab Emirates next on October 27. The hosts have lost their game 2-1 against the Kyrgyz Republic and will look to make the most of it in their following match against India.
