Indian Football Team's Report Card After Intercontinental Cup 2024 Disappointment

India's misery continues even after a change at the head of the table. India ended the Intercontinental Cup 2024 campaign with a goalless draw against Mauritius in their first match and a 3-0 defeat against Syria in their last match. The Blue Tigers registered no goal and no win.

However, new head coach Manolo Marquez has made a few changes, which along with some minor improvements were visible. India did not go down without a fight. However, considering their performance, they still have a long way to go. Some players playing out of their position looked like fish out of water.

Players like Lallianzuala Chhangte and Sahal Abdul Samad ranked higher in performance across both matches. Samad created some good chances throughout the match against Syria and had a clear impact on the game after he was subbed on against Mauritius.

Chhangte consistently initiated India's attacking play, maintaining a high pace throughout both games. His positioning sense contributed to the team's forward momentum, despite challenges with final delivery and finishing. Jeakson Singh and Apuia Ralte's performances were inconsistent but effective at times.

Jay Gupta managed to move well up to the opposition's box multiple times and even got some golden chances to help the Blue Tigers with some much-needed goals, yet he wasted all of them. He didn’t get any playing time in the second game against Syria.

Another surprising disappointment was Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. After Amrinder played a good game against Mauritius, the coach decided to bring in GSS against Syria considering his prowess. However, that plan did not work. Players like Nikhil Poojary, Chinglensana, Suresh Singh, and Naorem also performed poorly in both games.

Indian Football Team Players Report Card

• Manvir Singh - 6/10
• Liston Colaco - 5.5/10
• Anirudh Thapa - 6/10
• Lallianzuala Chhangte - 7.5/10
• Jeakson Singh - 7/10
• Apuia Ralte - 7/10
• Jay Gupta - 5/10
• Chinglensana - 5/10
• Rahul Bheke - 6/10
• Asish Rai - 6/10
• Amrinder Singh - 6.5/10
• Anwar Ali - 6/10
• Gurpreet Singh Sandhu - 5/10
• Sahal Abdul Samad - 7.5/10
• Nandhakumar Sekar - 6.5/10
• Suresh Singh - 5/10
• Subhasish Bose - 6.5/10
• Nikhil Poojary - 5/10
• Edmund Lalrindika - 6/10
• Naorem Mahesh Singh - 5/10

Other than these players, Puitea, Kiyan Nassiri, Prabhsukhan Gill, and Mehtab Singh were also selected for the squad but none of them saw any playing time.