FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Guam vs India - 4 things India must improve on
India visit Guam to take on the host nation in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers group stage match. India faced defeat in the opening match of the group stage last week against Oman while Guam surprisingly defeated Turkmenistan to register full points in the opening game. The last time these two sides met was in 2013 when the men in blue thrashed Guam 4-0. A lot has changed since then and the Guam side has improved a lot. An interesting clash is on the cards and India will have to be cautious in tomorrow’s game.
The Indians did a fine job against a strong Oman side and exhibited great spirit throughout the game. Some silly defensive errors and referee’s decision stopped India from getting at least a point against a mush illustrious opponent. Stephen Constantine’s men need to improve in some of the areas in order to raise their game standard and win the game against the on-paper minnows.
Here are the four things India must do to win tomorrow’s game and bag full point from the away match.
Indian Defenders must improve
India went down by a narrow margin of 2-1 against mighty Oman last week in the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers. Oman, who are placed 40 places above India in the FIFA ranking failed to produce a dominant affair much to the credit of the Indian players. A person who has not watched the game closely will most definitely credit the Indian defenders for such a scoreline, but in reality it was because of the Indian defenders that the Omanis managed to score 2 goals.
The first goal was scored within 30 seconds of the kick-off. The away side eased past the Indian defenders and scored a simple goal. The second goal was scored in the 40th minute when Dhanachandra Singh pulled off a ridiculous tackle on the opponent striker to give away a penalty. The coordination between the two center backs Arnab Mondal and Dhanachandra Singh was not up to the mark.
Also the Bengaluru full-backs Rino Anto and Lalchhaummawia Fanai went out of positions in quite a few occasions. The defenders have to work hard in tomorrow’s game against Guam so that India does not falter yet again.
Robin Singh must raise his standard
Bengaluru FC forward Robin Singh is one of the best strikers in the country right now. The tall well built Tata Football Academy striker has an intimidating physique which is a necessity in international matches. When he broke into the Indian football scenario 5 years back he created a furor among the Indian fans. Unfortunately, Singh failed to live up to our expectations.
Robin Singh plays a target man role in the Indian squad, but most of the times gives the ball away easily due to a poor first touch. He lacks speed and is easily outpaced by opponent defenders. Also on several occasions he misses goal scoring opportunities which actually harm India’s cause.
In the previous match against Oman, he was extremely poor and possibly was the worst performer in the Indian outfit. He is the only proper number 9 India have right now. Thus, in order to improve India’s game Robin Singh has to raise his game standards.