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Jhingan took responsibility for India’s goalless draw against Bangladesh, stressing the team’s collective effort in scoring and keeping clean sheets in the upcoming games.
Indian defender Sandesh Jhingan. (AIFF)
The Indian men’s football team star defender Sandesh Jhingan was one of the first to put up his hand and take responsibility after their goalless draw against Bangladesh in their opening Group C AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifier third round match in Shillong back in March.
In a social media post on Instagram, the 31-year-old owned up to take the ‘blame’, ‘criticism’, ‘frustration’, ‘anger’ and ‘disappointment’ of the fans, before adding the team’s resolve to come back stronger.
On Thursday, ahead of the Indian team’s training session at the AIFF National Center of Excellence in Kolkata, Sandesh Jhingan revealed that head coach Manolo Marquez along with the player were disappointed.
When asked about at least keeping back-to-back clean sheets in Shillong against Maldives and Bangladesh, the defender replied :”First of all, we have come a long way from that. We are not in that era, where would cherish clean sheets. Of course, it always feels good.”
As for not being able to score goals of late, prompting Sunil Chhetri to rescind his call to retire, Jhingan feels that it is the responsibility as a team to play well and score goals.
“In Shillong, we showed that we can score many goals. Three against Maldives and against Bangladesh we could have scored as well. If we keep a clean sheet, and if you give all the laurels to the centre backs or the fullbacks or the number six or the goalkeeper, it’s unfair. If my strikers don’t press well, if my number 10 isn’t taking their number six, maybe one game, you can keep a clean sheet, the other one you will concede,” he explained.
“And the same way, if my boys are front are not scoring, and I just go into dressing room and start dashing things around, like, ‘why you can’t score’, that’ll be the most stupid thing I could do, because the reason they’re not scoring is because we at the back are not bringing the balls, putting it up to the midfield, midfield is not putting good balls in the box. And that’s why we’re not scoring. So to point out a single aspect is very unfair, and I think, at least in our team, we don’t think that way. It’s a collective effort,” Jhingan added.
Almost all of the players have joined the camp with midfielder Ashique Kuruniyan being the latest on Wednesday after suffering from illness. Only defender Rahul Bheke, who became a father recently, is left and would be joining his teammates on May 23. The Blue Tiger will depart for Thailand on May 28 to face them in a friendly in Pathum Thani on June 4 before the all-important second group game against Hong Kong in Kowloon City on June 10,
When asked if a longer camp helps in the players gelling and growing their bonds with their national teammates, given the little time the head coach had with the players ahead of their previous international games, Jhingan said: “I think bond is something which at least I can assure you, will never be an issue for us. All the three coaches I’ve been under, all the different batches I’ve been under, one of the biggest strengths is our bond. That’s the one thing I’m least worried about and more the time the coach gets because in football each one comes from a different club. They all have different philosophies, they all have different systems which works at the club. When you come to the national team, what the boss wants could be different from your club, so the more training sessions you could get helps the team to prepare well.”
Given that Jhingan has worked under head coach Manolo at FC Goa does give him an advantage, at least in terms of tactics and positions.
“The national team is a different approach and at the club it is a different approach. But in the end of the day, the training, the philosophy, the system he wants to impose depending on the place, it’s kind of, I have an idea and it’s easier for me to grasp it,” Jhingan said.
After a goalless draw between all four teams, with each team having one point, India need a positive result against Hong Kong with only one team advancing to the AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Jhingan was part of the team, along with a majority of the name from the current squad, that beat Hong Kong when the teams last met in 2022 in another AFC Asian Cup Qualifier, which India won 4-0. But this time around, Ashley Westwood, who has managed multiple clubs in India, is at the helm, someone who Jhingan knows well.
When asked about their upcoming meeting, he said: “I think Ashley is up there now and of course he brings his own system there and we all know how well he has done in India. He was with BFC, he’s done well with Afghanistan as well. He knows what he wants from his team. So of course, the team has changed a lot. You know, a new coach comes and makes a whole lot of difference. I will slowly keep preparing for that. We have the game in our mind, but we want to impose our system, our style as well. And for more secrets you need to watch tune in on 10th of June.”
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Kolkata [Calcutta], India, India
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