It was an exaggeration, alright, but made the point about Mishra nor being known to have a strong right foot. Because his club Mumbai City FC had skipped the Durand Cup, the left back got it right when it mattered, and yet without a competitive match this season.
Right hand lifted, forefinger pointing up, Ryan Williams said an Akash Mishra pass with his right foot had ended in the car park.
The pass, after Bijoy Verghese played a Mishra throw-in back to him, led to Williams scoring his second goal in three matches for India. India are 138th in the FIFA rankings. Phlegmatic and self-effacing, his answers much more cryptic than those from Williams, Khalid Jamil agreed that India could have started the international window with a win.
Omar Valencia equalised in the 68th but against a team ranked 44th in the world, the 1-1 result would rank as one of the best for the men’s senior national football team.
“If we had a little more belief,” he said. Panama’s goal may have come from a slip in concentration, said the India head coach. The 41st minute strike put India in front here on Friday.
In a difficult game, the players focussed on each individual action instead of the whole 90 minutes, said Williams, 32. Starting as a 16-year-old at Portsmouth in 2010, Williams joined Bengaluru FC in 2023 after a decade in England which was followed by stints at clubs in the A-League. That was after winning the 2023 SAFF Championship final against Kuwait, one of the teams invited for the competition. Tickets were available for ₹ 499 here but most of them were between 1500 to 10,000. For the game against Brazil, tickets for ₹ 999 and ₹ 1,500 are sold out but the bulk is priced between ₹ 3,500 to ₹ 25,000. The range for tickets for the India-Uruguay match is ₹ 799-9,999.
“But it worked against a World Cup team. So, credit to the coaching staff and credit to Akash. “We were really happy with how we took the ball from back to front. It was a performance we should all be very proud of… one we will take a lot of confidence from. With his technique and footballing nous Williams, adjudged player of the match, has been an excellent addition to the team. The last time India played here, the match ended with All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey jumping into the arms of then head coach Igor Stimac. In the absence of big-ticket corporate backing, gate sales could be the largest source of revenue for AIFF.
The move was one of the things India had worked on in the training camp here, said Williams. “It’s quite old school, feed it back and put it behind,” said the former Australia forward who became an Indian citizen last year. “If you can do that to the best of your ability, it will slowly build,” he said, moving one palm over another. He said the squad deserves credit for helping him bed in. No official reason was provided but speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, AIFF officials said both were busy with arrangements for the remaining games.
Chaubey was conspicuous by his absence on Friday but even more striking was national team director Subrata Paul not being here.
