Kolkata, Oct 6 (PTI) India head coach Khalid Jamil on Tuesday took full responsibility for his side’s heavy 1-6 defeat to Uruguay, refusing to blame the 34-minute weather interruption or his players’ concentration lapse as they ended their FIFA international window with two defeats and a draw.
Anirudh Thapa briefly lifted the mood with a 22nd-minute equaliser, but two-time former world champions Uruguay ran riot with half a dozen goals to complete a comprehensive victory.
Jamil, who saw his side concede 10 goals in their last two matches against Brazil and Uruguay, was quick to accept full responsibility.
“I fully blame myself. We should not give any excuse. I am not blaming anyone, but I made many mistakes. We have to rectify those mistakes,” Jamil said at the post-match interaction.
Asked to elaborate on those mistakes, Jamil said he needed time to assess the matches before reaching conclusions.
“Yes, many mistakes. You can say both. But now this is not the right time to say anything. I have to think about the two matches, who did what. There are many things, but we have to solve the problems immediately. The concentration, the lack of concentration of all the players — we have to give good instructions,” he said.
The defeat followed India’s 0-4 loss to Brazil three days earlier, meaning they conceded 10 goals against the two South American sides in the space of three days.
“Yes, it is very bad. I want to play more matches at this level. But I don’t want to blame anyone. It is what I said — it is my mistake. I can’t blame anyone,” Jamil said.
India had shown promise in the opening half against Uruguay, with Thapa cancelling out Darwin Nunez’s 11th-minute penalty after Pramveer brought down Federico Vinas.
But the game was interrupted for 34 minutes by lightning and rain after the drinks break. Once play resumed, it was a one-way traffic for Forlan’s side.
Maximiliano Araujo scored twice, while Rodrigo Zalazar, Juan Sanabria and Rodrigo Aguirre also found the net.
Jamil said the biggest lesson from the defeat was the need for greater concentration.
“One mistake can cost you. Sometimes we don’t know where one mistake will take us. So we have to be alert,” he said.
Jamil urged his players to move on quickly and concentrate on their club football with the ISL set to begin October 10.
“I told them this is part of the game. Don’t think like this. Go back to your clubs and give your best. After two matches, they are playing again. Don’t think that because of you we have lost. It is part of the game,” he said.
India’s three-match window — against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay — drew flak with the fixtures coming after the All India Football Federation’s decision to withdraw from the ASEAN Cup.
Asked whether India should be playing top-ranked opposition directly, Jamil said such matches were necessary.
“No, it is not like that. One day we have to play. We have to take it. We have decided that we play these matches. We wanted to win both the matches,” he said.
Jamil also rejected the suggestion that India were overly defensive against Uruguay.
“No, no. We have to be defensively strong. It is not that we go attacking because we are playing more defensively. We attack because we are thinking about scoring. But sometimes, yes, defensively we have to be strong,” he said.
India took early advantage: Forlan
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Uruguay coach Diego Forlan said India had initially benefited from his side’s slow passing and transitions but said his team adapted.
“We knew that they could press. They have really good players. At the beginning, our transition and passing were a little bit slow, so India took advantage of that. Then we tried to fix it. In the end, we controlled their pressing really well, as we did against South Korea,” Forlan said.
The former Uruguay striker was pleased with his team’s progress after opening his tenure with a 1-3 defeat to Japan and then beating South Korea 4-1.
“The game we played against Korea was great. The team played really well. We deserved the way we played and the way we won. The goals we scored today came at the beginning of the game, which was a little bit rough and difficult, but we are happy,” he said.
Forlan described his tenure as the beginning of a new phase for Uruguay and said he wanted to provide his players with the tools to improve.
“It is a new time, it is different. We have really good players. I am happy to be with them as a manager and give them all the tools and everything they need to become better and better. That’s something that, as a manager, you want to achieve,” he said.
Despite the emphatic scoreline, Forlan said Uruguay had to remain wary of India’s ability to hurt them on the counter.
“We need to be careful because India have some transition. They got the ball and they could damage us. We have to be careful, trying to take the ball from them and not make any mistakes, because it could be really difficult for us if they score another goal,” he said.
Forlan, who returned to Kolkata a decade after his stint with Mumbai City in the ISL, also thanked the hosts for their warm hospitality.
“We have to be grateful for the way they treated us. It was wonderful. We had a really good week here and, of course, we came here to play a game. At the beginning it was difficult, but we kept playing after the break.
“It was a good experience and we are very happy. Everything was very easy for us and we are very grateful,” the 2010 World Cup Golden Ball winner signed off. PTI TAP TAP AH
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