Problem of plenty for Jamil after strong CAFA Cup show

“The football may not be good but there have been some good results.” This was a former India head coach reacting to the podium finish in the CAFA Nations Cup.

- Dhiman Sarkar

The coach did not want to be named but it was an accurate summation of India’s campaign, pugnacious and pragmatic, in Tajikistan which ended with a come-from-behind win against Oman who are in contention for a 2026 World Cup berth. Without 10 regulars including Subhasish Bose and Akash Mishra, who were recovering from injury, India gave their new head coach a dream start. In an eight-team tournament where they were the second lowest-ranked team, India finished third with two wins, one defeat and a draw. In three of their four matches, India played opponents higher in the FIFA ladder.

Ranked 133, India bookended their run with wins against Tajikistan (ranked 106) and Oman (79) with a defeat to Iran and a draw against Afghanistan in between.

Jamil has brought what worked for him in getting mid-table clubs to punch above their weight: stirring defensive displays. India had 27% possession against Oman and the highest they logged on that metric was 40% against Afghanistan. Soaking up pressure and being physical will be the new normal and India did that well; Iran had 14 corner-kicks but threatened with none. India will go long, look for crosses and be efficient at set-plays. That all three goals came from long throws is very Jamil.