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International Friendly: China vs India (Oct 13, 2018): All Things Considered

WHERE TO WATCH

India’s first international fixture in China is scheduled to be held at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Suzhou City on October 13, 2018.

The kick-off is 17:05 (IST) and will be telecast on the Star Sports Network in India.

Live streaming will be available on Hotstar and Jio TV.

SQUADS

Indian Team

GOALKEEPERS:  Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Karanjit Singh.

DEFENDERS: Pritam Kotal, Sarthak Golui, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhasish Bose, Narayan Das.

MIDFIELDERS: Udanta Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Pronay Halder, Rowllin Borges, Anirudh Thapa, Vinit Rai, Halicharan Narzary, Ashique Kuruniyan.

FORWARDS: Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sumeet Passi, Farukh Choudhary.

Chinese Team

GOALKEEPERS: Zeng Cheng, Yan Junling, Zhang Lu

DEFENDERS: Zhang Linpeng, Feng Xiaoting, Li Xuepeng, Yu Hai, Liu Yiming, Wang Tong, Yu Yang

MIDFIELDERS: Zheng Zhi, Yu Hanchao, Zhao Xuri, Jin Jingdao, He Chao, Piao Cheng, Chi Zhongguo, Wu Xi, Mirahmetjan Muzepper

FORWARDS: Gao Lin, Wu Lei, Xiao Zhi, Yu Dabao

MATCH PREVIEW

-The last time these two teams met was 21 years ago at the Nehru Cup in Kochi in 1997 which India lost 1-2.
-Head to Head Record: Played 17; Drew: 5; India 0; China 12.
-Sandesh Jhingan will captain the Indian side.
“I think he is going to be one of the leaders for India going forward. Keeping the magnitude of the game in mind, I believe he deserves to lead the team,” Indian Coach Stephen Constantine said in the pre-match press conference.
-China currently ranks 76th in FIFA Rankings (India is ranked 97th in FIFA rankings).
-China’s form has been indifferent going into this game. They lost 0-1 to Qatar and drew against Bahrain recently. Marcello Lippi will look to register a win ahead of the Asian Cup in January which will be his last assignment with the Chinese National Team.

STARTING XI

china india lineup

MATCH STATS

90+1′ – India Rowllin Borges (IN) Anirudh Thapa (OUT).
84′ – India Vinit Rai (IN) Pronay Halder (OUT).
83′ – YELLOW CARD – Nikhil Poojari (India)
79′ – Substitution, India. Farukh Choudhary replaces Jeje Lalpekhlua.
79′ – China PR Fan Xiaodong (IN) Li Xuepeng (OUT).
67′ – China PR Mirahmetjan Muzepper (IN) Zhao Xuri (OUT).
63′ – India Nikhil Poojari (IN) Udanta Singh (OUT).
63′ – India Anas Edathodika (IN) Narayan Das (OUT).
58′ – YELLOW CARD – Liu Yiming (China PR)
45′ – China PR Yu Hanchao (IN) Wang Tong (OUT).
45′ – China PR Yu Hai (IN) Jin Jingdao (OUT).
45′ – China PR Xiao Zhi (IN) Yu Dabao (OUT).
45′ – China PR Liu Yiming (IN) Yu Yang (OUT).

TALKING POINTS

-The match was billed as ‘the earth derby’ as nearly a third of the world’s population lives in these two countries.

-China should’ve won the game. They created a number of chances – which were either thwarted by Indian Goalkeeper G.S. Sandhu or they were just unfortunate – hitting the post, goal mouth scramble etc.

-China played a 4-2-3-1 to India’s 4-4-2.  The Indian midfield was overrun and the Chinese held onto large chunks of possession and created a lot of chances (20 attempts at goal). Anirudh Thapa was positionally unaware during the game; Pronay did a decent job holding on to the ball although he was surrounded by 2-3 Chinese players during the game. Still, his style of play bodes well for the future. Udanta Singh and Narzary didn’t get much freedom to break free as they were trying to cover their fullbacks throughout the game.

-India did get 2-3 good chances, but the Indian wide and forward players were wasteful.

-Going forward (literally and figuratively), India needs to switch to a three-man midfield and stop playing non-possession based football.  The team rarely wins the second ball and the strikers (Jeje and Chhetri) are not playing to their strengths. The wingers and forwards sit back way too much for transitions to work in their favour.

 

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Indian Football: All Things Considered
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