Picture Courtesy: AFC Media

Despite the loss to UAE in their second match of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on Thursday, the Blue Tigers managed to send out a clear message - the sleeping giants are waking up and slowly, but steadily, gunning for their rightful place in the footballing world. The Indian team convincingly dismantled a highly-rated Thailand 4-1 in their opening fixture of the continental showpiece before narrowly losing out to the host nation in a match which could have gone their way if they had a little bit of luck on the night. The Indians hit the crossbar twice and the UAE goalkeeper had to pull off two great saves to subject to Blue Tigers to an agonizing loss.

Stephen Constantine’s revelation about how some of the UAE players voluntarily came up to him and heaped praise on the team testifies to the exquisite performance his team put up against a side ranked almost 20 places above them in the FIFA Rankings.

Third-youngest team in the tournament

It's a bold new Indian team and at the core of it all has been the invaluable contribution of the young Indian stars who’ve given it their all and then some. To put it into context, the Blue Tigers' are the third-youngest squad in the competition with an average age of just 24.83 years. Only Vietnam (23.13) and Iraq (24) squads have a lower average age than India in the tournament.

Young guns firing all cylinders

Youngsters like Udanta Singh, Anirudh Thapa and Subhasish Bose were already first-team regulars going into the tournament, but have exceeded expectations in the two matches so far. Udanta, currently 22, set up two of the four goals against Thailand and terrorised the UAE defence with his pace and dribbling skills. Twenty-year-old Thapa, who is the youngest member of the squad, scored his first goal for India against Thailand and has excelled in his box-to-box midfield role. The youngster also happens to be one of the set-piece specialists of the team. 23-year-old Subhashish has been a solid presence in the left-back position, with his maturity and cool demeanour shining through.

The find of the tournament, however, has been Ashique Kuruniyan. The 21-year-old's inclusion in the squad seemed like a wildcard of sorts and the FC Pune City player was expected to play the role of the impact sub, coming on late in matches to inject some pace down the wings. However, to everyone's surprise, Ashique was part of the starting XI against Thailand and was deployed in a very different role. Constantine has used Ashique in a very Firmino-esque roaming no. 9 role. When the team is in possession, Ashique is required to link up with Sunil Chhetri up front like a regular second striker. But when the ball is with the opposition, he has been tasked with initiating presses from the top, acting as the first line of defence. It's a tricky role to execute but the youngster has given a really good account of himself so far.

Due credit to Constantine

Picture Courtesy: AFC Media

Playing with such a youthful squad comes with its own set of drawbacks, as the lack of experience and consistency can often prove fatal in big stages like the AFC Asian Cup. So, due credit must be given to Constantine for keeping faith on his young guns come what may. In the Englishman's own words, "You always expect a bit of inconsistency with young players, but the beauty of it is that when you stick with them and give them time, they can mature to become top players. They will definitely get better."

The future

The youngsters putting up a great show in the AFC Asian Cup is just a part of the larger evolution in Indian football over the past few years. The advent of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) in the last five years has helped provide a stage for the young talents in the country, who have benefitted immensely through improved infrastructure and playing alongside top international professionals in the league. Despite not making the final squad for the Asian Cup, the likes Lallianzuala Chhangte, Nishu Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Michael Soosairaj, Chinglensana Singh, among many others, have already become household names in the country and are expected to play a major role in the national setup in the years to come.

It's still early days, but no one will be jumping the gun if they say that Indian football is entering a new dawn, brought about by fearless and talented young players. With Mission 2026 firmly in mind, the future definitely looks bright.