The Indian football team ended their race without a victory with a victory against the Maldives on Wednesday. They are then faced with the challenge of Bangladesh. We take a look at three main dishes to take away for India from the victory of the Maldives.
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The Indian football team started its 2025 calendar with a 3-0 victory against the Maldives in the international Friendly played on Wednesday in Shillong. The victory if necessary gave India a perfect start to their FIFA March window as they prepare to face the Bangladesh during the AFC 2027 Asian Cup qualifications.
India is fired in group C alongside Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore. The Bangladesh match will be his first qualifying match and the group’s winner at the end will go directly to the Asian 2027 Cup in Saudi Arabia.
While the Blue Tigers and coach Manolo Marquez turn their attention to the Bangladesh match, we take a look at three major discussion points of the India VS Maldives international football match.
Nightmare Runs ends with Manolo’s first victory
The Maldives are classified 162nd in the FIFA ranking and their male league, Dhivehi Premier League, took place for the last time in 2023. All this meant that the Maldives entered the competition as Outsider against India which are 126th in the FIFA ranking. But the Indian football team has struggled to have positive results in recent times, against stronger or so-called lower teams. Their last victory had occurred on November 16, 2023 against Kuwait during the qualification of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
In this regard, beat the Maldives came as a great relief for Indian football fans, because it was the first victory for the Blue Tigers after a gap of 489 days and also the first victory for the team under the manager Manolo Marquez.
The Spaniard has been a coach of India since July 2024, losing one and pulling three in four games before the Maldives match.
Chhetri underlines why India returned to him
One of the main scenarios form the victory of India was Sunil Chhetri returning to the national team and marking his return. The 40 -year -old striker, who was in a sensational form in the Indian Super League (ISL), reversed his international retirement to help India qualify for the Asian Cup.
It took him a little time to get on the match sheet, and he had once a clear opportunity refused when a header was erased from the goal line. But Chhetri has always been relentless in the Indian shirt. He was the same in Shillong, constantly doing sneaky races behind the defenders before finally capitalizing on a crossroads by Liston Colaco to mark with a look at the nearby post after a Darting race.
95th goal for Sunil Chhetri 🔥🔥🔥
🇮🇳 India 3-0 Maldives 🇲🇻
India completely dominates the gameplay 💪
pic.twitter.com/bya69h1cbl– The Khel India (@Thekhelindia) March 19, 2025
His vision, commitment and physical form to beat the defender stressed why Manolo was forced to count on a 40 -year -old striker.
The other two goals from India came from defender Rahul Bheke and the Liston Colaco winger.
The creativity of India in last third seems to be poor
The wingers of India Liston and Naorem Mahesh Singh had a good day and Ayush Chhetri made a memorable start in the midfield. Suresh Singh Wangjam had a correct match and the defenders did not have much to do against a bad Maldivian attack. But the main concern is the lack of creativity in the last third, especially in the community.
This is a major reason why most of the Indian objectives come from parts. Brandon Fernandes was the best bet in India, but he was injured in the first half and was forced to leave the field after helping for Bheke’s goal.
With only options on the bench being Asique Kuruniyan, Brison Fernandes, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Apuia, Farukh Choudhary and Irfan Yadwad, it is difficult to see how Manolo can radically change things.
And this lack of creativity can be the difference against Bangladesh who now has Hamza Choudhury in their ranks.
