FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers India vs Bangladesh: What went wrong?

In the third match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, a spirited Bangladesh side held favourites India to a 1-1 draw to salvage one point from the game.

Hyderabad: India on Tuesday were held by a spirited Bangladesh side in a crucial World Cup 2022 qualifier match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The result hampered India's chances of progressing to the next round.

The Indian team were not at all comfortable on the ball and combined with sloppy passing in all areas of the field produced a disappointing display. In the first half, the team played numerous long balls and aimed at Manvir Singh at every opportunity to break forward. However, the player didn't pose much of a threat to Bangladesh's goalkeeper although he put in a good shift while hustling the defence.

Adil Khan's late strike helped India hold Bangladesh

The Indian team at times tried to overdo and in the process complicated things which in turn made them lose balls at crucial zones. The defenders were also committing themselves easily and the Bangladeshi players took advantage of the same and were outrunning them to create chances.

The passing was too much wayward and the crosses were overcooked which had too much power which led to them missing their intended targets.

Jamie Day's team got behind the ball quickly and defended whole-heartedly, suffocating India and annoying them in the attacking third while breaking in counter whenever the hosts messed it up while in advance position.

The Bangladeshi counter-attacks were threatening as the Indian defenders were often caught sleeping off the ball. Bangladesh created many opportunities and could have even won the game had they finished better.

Bangladesh suffocated India by maintaining a shape while defending

Another aspect why India were so poor was because Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, India's goalkeeper had a bad day on Tuesday. Gurpreet wasn't at his best and committed two grave blunders, one of which resulted in the game's opening goal while the second one almost guaranteed a win for the visitors.

India were listless for the majority of the game, although they tried to force a winner in injury time they ultimately had to settle for a point that takes their tally in the group to two points from three games thus positioning them in the fourth spot in the group.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, continue to languish at the bottom of the table with one point from three matches.