Oman 1-0 India: Familiar problems plague India

India suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Oman on Tuesday evening as their chances of making it into the next round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers went up in smoke. Yes, it was an offside goal and the linesman got his call completely wrong but that shouldn’t take away the fact that India couldn’t muster a clear-cut opportunity.

Much has been spoken about the need to change the style of play. The players too are enjoying the confidence of the new coach who prefers to play the ball along the ground as opposed to hoofing it to the strikers.

However, India continues to stutter in front of goal even when the rare opportunity knocks. What we have witnessed is that not much has changed in terms of…