Suspense crime, Digital Desk : In an international football friendly game that took place on Wednesday at the Thammasat Stadium, India faced a disappointing 0-2 defeat to Thailand. This match acted as a preparatory exercise for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifier rounds, but it ultimately served as a wake-up call for India.

Despite being ranked 99th on the FIFA World Rankings, Thailand was able to secure a comfortable lead over India, who are currently ranked 127th, with goals from Benjamin Davis (8th minute) and Poramet Arjvilai (59th minute).

The Opportunities That India Missed

India’s Chhetri was close to scoring in the 24th minute where he almost replicated his phenomenal goals in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup where he scored twice, emerging as the star of the matches. Chhetri’s dazzling header attempt, however, sailed barely wide of the goal because it was perfectly denied by Saranon Anuin, the Thai goalkeeper.

India’s previous matches created a cloud of overconfidence that was shattered this time as despite having  India triumphed in the past two encounters- 4–1 in the 2019 Asian Cup, and winning 1–0 at the Kings Cup in 2019- Thailand was the better side this time dominating not just in goals but also in ball control and gameplay.

Qualifying for the Asian Cup Coming Up

The AFC Asian Cup qualifiers have been scheduled for Hong Kong, where India will be taking them on June 10 and with this friendly match, India aimed to get a head start in their training regime. On the other hand, Thailand will compete against Turkmenistan as part of their qualifier for the Asian Cup.

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