I’ve been to a football match many a time, and I don’t even have a count to be exact. Football is my sport and is something I live for.
But singing the national anthem for the national team on foreign soil is a feeling I had never experienced before. That’s what made this even more special, because India made it to the round of 16 at the Asian Games in second place.
It was India taking on Myanmar in the last group stage match, and an all-important encounter for the Blue Tigers to move to the next round. A win or a draw would be enough for India, but a win, always, helps team morale. For Myanmar to go through, they needed all three points, or they would have to wait and see if they are one of the four best third-place finishers.
The first ten minutes showed a high-paced game from both sides but as the game grew older, Myanmar came out to be the better coordinated team. A team with players who passed better and knew when to release the ball. India on the other hand, showed signs of lack of coordination but with a zeal to take the three points, the players went for every ball they could.
The better coordinated side, unfortunately, made a communication blunder in the 22nd minute when the last defender,in an attempt to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper, misjudged the pace, allowing Rahim Ali an one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. A foul was committed and India had a golden chance to go ahead.
The Indian skipper made no mistake in converting the spot kick. As always, Sunil Chhetri had ice running in his veins as he took a few slow steps before placing the ball in the corner to the keeper’s right, taking the Blue Tigers ahead by a goal in the 23rd minute.
Myanmar made a few desperate attempts to get back on level terms, mainly penetrating the Indian defence through their left wing, but India’s number 19 showed resilience to resist the attacks down the flank.
With a few corners and forward movements from both teams, which, however, caused no more damage to either side, the first half ended 1-0 in favour of Igor Stimac’s boys.
The second half started with a tactical change from Stimac, as he brought in Gurkirat Singh in place of Rahul KP.
Right from the start of the second half, Myanmar’s determination to equalize was evident from their back-to-back attacks, again down the left flank mainly, which were handled well by Sandesh Jhingan and co. And it was against the flow of the game that substitute Gurkirat Singh had a golden opportunity to double the lead in the 51st minute, but the Myanmar goalkeeper saved a crucial one-on-one to keep his team in the game.
Not more than two minutes later, Rahim Ali missed a similar chance, again saved well by the goalkeeper.
Even more desperate to score, the Red Lions showered attacks on the Indian goal, and the Indian defence was living on the edge, with some crucial blocks and a stretched-out save from Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem right on the one-hour mark.
The game started to become a bit more physical as it approached the 70th minute, and team India had a motive to slow down the pace of the match.
But Myanmar’s back-to-back attempts finally paid off in the 71st minute, when a lofted ball from the right flank was guided past Dheeraj by the number 21, Yan Kyan Htwe. Probably this goal forced Coach Stimac to make a tactical change in the 76th minute to inject two new players to bolster the attack, Rohit Danu and Vincy Barretto.
After a tense and physical last 10 minutes, the Blue Tigers managed to keep the score to 1-1, securing them a place in the pre-quarter finals of the Asian Games for the first time since 2010.
Given the circumstances and without any training sessions ahead of the match, as mentioned by the head coach in an exclusive interview to RevSportz, it will be considered an achievement to have made it to the next round, where a strong Saudi Arabia side will be waiting for them on Thursday.
A special mention of the senior members of the squad, both Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan, is a must. Both have shown leadership abilities throughout the game, be it a calm penalty kick, or being vocal in a certain situation or calmly defending in crucial moments. Whatever be the result against Saudi, Stimac and his boys have shown fight.
Full-time: India 1-1 Myanmar.
India qualify for the next round as the second-placed team.