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AFC Asian Cup qualifiers: Sahal takes India within touching distance of qualification after wild finish

We have all heard about the commentator’s curse in football but Sahal Abdul Samad turned that into a blessing as he answered Anant Tyagi’s call to step up and become a hero as India edged Afghanistan 2-1 in a bruising encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) on Saturday. In a game of intense pressing, flying tackles and missed chances, it was ironic that all three goals, scored in the space of five rollercoaster minutes in the end, were ice-cool finishes under pressure.

The win puts the Blue Tigers in the second spot behind Hong Kong who have the same number of points as India (6) but a better goal difference after their 3-0 thumping of Cambodia in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 third round qualifiers.

After a relatively drab affair against Cambodia in their opening game, the fans were given a treat as both teams went at each other’s throats from the very off. India head coach Igor Stimac made two changes to the side, bringing in Ashique Kuruniyan and Jeakson Singh in place of Brandon Fernandes and Anirudh Thapa.

India started off in what looked like an attacking 4-2-4 with an unchanged backline of Naorem Roshan Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali and Akash Mishra, screened by Jeakson and the indefatigable Suresh Singh Wangjam. Manvir Singh and Ashqiue provided the width on either side with Liston Colaco playing alongside Sunil Chhetri upfront. The shape later changed to a 4-3-3 with Liston given licence to roam in the space behind the front three.

After their opening round defeat against Hong Kong, Afghanistan came into this game desperate for the three points and their energetic approach relayed that message. Fans of Indian football were treated to a lot of familiar faces in the Afghan line-up like Haroon Amiri who has played for seven Indian clubs, and I-League winning Gokulam Kerala captain Sharif Mukhammad to name a couple.

After successfully using the flanks against Cambodia, India went for tried and tested, using Ashique and Manvir’s powerful running to keep the Afghanistan full-backs in their own half. The end-product however, was lacking and most of their crosses and cut-backs either went astray or for corners which came to nothing.

Jeakson’s presence in the middle of the park certainly gave India a different dimension with his calmness on the ball and an ability to break the lines with progressive passing. The towering midfielder even had the two best chances of the first half, a header from a corner which flew over the bar and a missed opportunity to shoot from the edge of the penalty area.

Afghanistan did not trouble India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the first period despite some nice link-up play from time to time. With India having more of the ball, the Lions of Khorasan, as they are nicknamed, had to resort to long balls to their forwards to relieve pressure or initiate counter-attacks.

Skipper Chhetri was quiet for most of the early period but came to life towards the end of the first half as he attempted an acrobatic effort which was blocked. The 37-year-old also had the best chance to break the deadlock early on in the second half as he got on the end of Manvir Singh’s looping header but it went just wide of the post.

Stimac made some changes, in personnel and shape, throwing on playmaker-in-chief Brandon Fernandes and ball-winning midfielder Glan Martins for Liston and Jeakson close to the hour mark. Afghanistan were seeing more of the ball in the second half as they switched to a more patient approach as compared to their all-action first-half display. They almost took the lead 15 minutes from time when substitute Mustafa Zazai hit a low volley towards goal but Gurpreet got down quickly to his right to thwart him.

A draw would not be good enough for either side and as time was running out, Ashique Kuruniyan made a strong run towards goal and won a foul just outside the box with five minutes of regulation time left on the clock. This set off a chain of events that turned the whole match upside down till the final whistle.

From the resulting set-piece, Chhetri stepped up and calmly curled the ball over the 6-man Afghanistan wall and into the net for his 83rd goal in international football. Barely had the fans stopped celebrating when a miscued clearance from Jhingan gifted Afghanistan a corner. And just like that, within a minute, substitute Zubayr Amiri had drawn his side level after taking advantage of non-existent marking to plant a powerful header into the near post.

A loss of focus immediately after scoring has hurt India in the past and it seemed like this would be one of those occasions again, especially considering Stimac had just substituted a livid Chhetri. But it was the incoming substitute Sahal who put the smile back on his captain’s face with a clinical finish to spark delirious scenes among the Indian dugout and the fans at the VYBK.

Six points may end up being enough to finish among the best five runners-up among the six groups to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 but after two wins out of two, contrasting though they may be, India should be aiming for the three points against Hong Kong to top the group.

As with Cambodia and Afghanistan, Hong Kong present a unique challenge especially with their naturalised Brazilian contingent. But three years since he took charge, Stimac finally looks to have settled on a core for his starting XI and this stability bodes well as India look to qualify for a historic second successive AFC Asian Cup.

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