Time For Some Tough Love! Indian Footballers Should Take Blame For Their Performances On The Pitch

Why is Indian Football struggling to qualify for the World Cup

After India drew their World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh last month, captain Sunil Chhetri took to social media to apologise to the 60,000 fans who had come to cheer on the home team at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. In a game where men in blue were expected to win, they missed a slew of chances and walked away with just a solitary point.

The Indian team played in a lackluster fashion against Bangladesh, a team which though ranked 184 in the FIFA rankings looked very comfortable defeating the Indian team. It was Adil Khan who scored an equaliser in the 88th minute, to help save face. Having lost and drawn their first two games against Oman and Qatar respectively, India needed maximum points from this encounter against the Tigers, but the game just fizzled out with a draw.

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A month later, things don't look bright for the Indian team. In their qualifier against Afghanistan on November 14, it was another dismal performance. Seiminlen Doungel came to the rescue this time. And it was a 1-1 draw that confirmed India's failure to qualify from their group.

Without a win in the first five qualifying matches, India has clearly lost its footing to qualify for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

The missed opportunities and excuses

In all three matches, India's game was disjointed, if not bereft of any cohesion and belonging. For most parts it looked like 11 players from 11 different teams were trying to work a way to get on the same page.

For long, Indian football team has gotten away with dreadful performances on the pitch in the name of lack of investment, facilities and footballing structure. The failure on the pitch can no more be credited to cricket - a sport that often gets an unusually large criticism when we perform poorly in other sports.

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Money is definitely not the issue. There has been investment over the years - the cash rich Indian Super League was introduced in 2013, infrastructure has improved immensely, so has the attendance and quality of venues.

Recently All India Football Federation (AIFF) won a special award from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for having a very constructive and quality grassroots programme in place. So, you can't blame the structure either. What else could be the reason then?

Lack of team spirit

The games against Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Oman, was a timely reminder of a quality vacuum - in the Indian team. The strike force barring captain Sunil Chhetri is wasteful and devoid of any impactful performances. For years now, India has put the scoring burden on talisman Chhetri, and on most occasions, he has delivered. But a team game can't be won by an individual alone, it requires a total team effort. The defence, midfield, and even the attack has lacked the extra edge needed to win matches.

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After the draw against Afghanistan, India's head coach Igor Stimac said the team was finding ways to muster a comeback, "Never before was India coming back from negative situations. In the games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan, we came back in the last minute. Now, we are the team which never gives up. We are becoming the team with character, with charisma."

The Croatian tactician did try to find a cheery angle to the debacle, but he forgot one thing: these are the type of games you have to win, it is about sporting pride. These teams are ranked way below India and should have been dispatched without any effort. Stealing a draw at the end in a game you should be winning, it hardly gives anyone confidence. You can't just blame the coach though.

Every team member needs to step up to the occasion. There is a need for justification at the very top level, on the selection process and staying power of the team members. They need to be a part of the team only on merit.

Lessons from history

The Indian team needs to take inspiration for the team of the 1950s and 1960s, regarded as our golden period in football. The team went toe-to-toe with some of the biggest countries and gave a good account of themselves. A fourth place finish in 1956 Olympics and the Asian Games gold in 1962, it was a group that went on to the field, put their lives on the line and played like champions. The current crop needs to put their heads down, and follow the lead.The excuses have to stop for Indian football to win back its once loyal fans.