For India, the more interesting question after Saturday night was not how they had lost to Brazil, but whether, for once, they had glimpsed a version of themselves that might survive beyond the occasion. The 4-0 scoreline will survive in the record books. Once Estevão broke the resistance after 28 minutes, the evening tilted decisively in their favour.
As it should. Brazil were expectedly superior. But scorelines can be accurate without always being illuminating.
We lost our concentration at times. There was enough evidence to suggest they had. Until Brazil scored, India were not overawed. They were organised at the back, aggressive without being reckless and willing to run on the counter. Apuia and Anirudh Thapa helped give the midfield a measure of defensive control, Manvir Singh covered ground almost endlessly, and Ryan Williams provided the threat that India so often lack against stronger opposition. Williams might even have changed the mood inside the stadium. He forced Mauro Junior into a desperate goalline clearance and then fired narrowly wide from the right side of the area. These were fleeting moments, but they mattered. India were not merely waiting for Brazil to score. They were, occasionally, asking questions of them. India coach Khalid Jamil wasn’t beating around the bush about the lapses. “Then we conceded a silly goal. And then a second goal. So the calculation has changed a little. Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged India’s grit as well. For India, that first half-hour was the most valuable part of the evening. The more obvious story concerned Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Making his 90th appearance for India and wearing the captain’s armband, the goalkeeper endured a difficult opening period and was replaced at half-time. His errors contributed to Brazil’s two goals, making him an obvious target in the aftermath. But Jamil refused to blame him. “The defender didn’t close down, then the ball moved from there as well. So overall, everybody’s mistake. Jamil didn’t reveal much about Gurpreet’s return against Uruguay, but neither did he abandon him.
“Till the water break, I was thinking everything will be fine,” he said. “We had difficulty opening the score,” he said, before adding that once Estevão scored, Brazil had more opportunity to control the game. “It’s not because of Gurpreet, he’s one of the finest goalkeepers in the country,” he said. “Gurpreet, definitely he will be back,” he said.
Before the goals came inevitably, a familiar narrative started setting in.
The larger challenge is psychological. They were playing the weight of their own recent results, the expectations of a home crowd and the fear that comes with facing players who operate at a completely different level every week. “They’ve played in different clubs. So to manage them is very difficult, not an easy job.”
“Definitely their quality, their coach is also good,” Jamil said. India’s players were not simply playing Brazil on Saturday.
