Football history is replete with examples where weaker nations have dug deep and shown grit to snatch a point against relative heavyweights. In most cases, it is the goalkeeper or a defender who hogs the limelight, thanks to their courageous defensive actions. More often than not, they assume a stature of mythical proportions at the end of the match.
In the 2014 World Cup, a certain Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico became a household name when he frustrated a star-studded Brazil team in Fortaleza to hold them to a 0-0 draw. Looking a bit closer to home, India's very own Subrata Paul and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu have been in a similar situation on a few occasions and they turned out to be heroes with their individual brilliance.
In the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, Paul was nicknamed 'Spiderman' by the fans for his valiant performances against much superior sides like Australia and South Korea. Although his net was pierced by both teams, if it had not been for him, the scoreline would have been worse for India.
Similarly, Sandhu said 'Thou shalt not pass' to Marcelo Lippi's China in a friendly back in 2018 and India secured a 0-0 draw. Moreover, during India's historic draw against the reigning Asian champions Qatar in Doha, the 29-year-old once again produced the goods and was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch.
In all the above mentioned instances, there was one common theme. It was the lower-ranked team's goalkeeper who stood out with his shot-stopping skills as the stronger side bombarded the opposition goal with relentless and purposeful offensive action.
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On Thursday afternoon, when India locked horns against Sri Lanka, it was a meeting between the 107th and 205th-ranked teams. Interestingly, if we take a closer look at the FIFA rankings, we find out that Sri Lanka are the second lowest-ranked 'country' in the world. The teams who are ranked lower than them are three overseas British territories (Turks and Caicos Island, British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla), one overseas United States' island (US Virgin Islands), and San Marino, the second smallest independent state in Europe, surrounded on all sides by Italy and with a population of just 33,600.
Yet India, the seven-time winners of the SAFF Championship could muster only a single shot on target, and that too was a tame effort on goal by substitute Sahal Abdul Samad. Often we find coaches defending their troops after a poor result, saying that his team had created chances but were not clinical in front of goal which caused the downfall. Well, unfortunately, Igor Stimac can hardly use that as an alibi.
The Blue Tigers lacked creativity in the attacking third and struggled to break down a Sri Lankan side that sat deep in a 5-4-1 formation. To be precise, India had created just two-and-a-half chances throughout the match. And even those two clear-cut opportunities were missed.
Sujan Perera, in the Sri Lankan goal, was not all troubled and there was not one instance where the goalkeeper was pushed to his limits. Sunil Chhetri was kept in check and voila, the Indian team looked like a fish out of water. And what is more concerning is that it is not a one-off instance. They have found it hard against Bangladesh in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers and subsequently in the SAFF Championship, and also against Nepal during the recent friendlies in Kathmandu.
It almost is surprising that such a superior side, at least on paper, like India could not work the Sri Lankan goalkeeper more. And that is disconcerting.
India are slated to play Nepal and Maldives in their next two games and Stimac's men need to show better purpose and skill if they are to qualify for the final of the tournament.
