Kolkata: All the pre-match talk was about the huge gulf between the two teams; one that has played every edition of the FIFA World Cup, won five, and even though they are now far from their best, still ranked sixth in the world.India’s rankings in football have been an embarrassment. At last count, it was 137.Everyone wondered at the mismatch. In Brazil, particularly, the ridicule was evident. “If you don’t win 20×0 against that nonexistent Indian squad, you might as well not even come back to Brazil — just stay there,” one fan posted on X. When the match kicked off, another one remarked, “20 minutes and you can’t even score against India.”Without moving out of second gear, Brazil eventually won the friendly 4-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday, but coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted it wasn’t easy at the start.“We had difficulty in opening the score, but the moment Estevao scored, we had more opportunities,” said Ancelotti. “We felt good (playing in India). It was a good experience. India played their part, tried to defend, played counterattack. It was a positive game.”Three of India’s four goals could have been avoided. There were defensive lapses, too, both individual and as a team, prompting coach Khalid Jamil to replace goalkeeper and captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu at half time.“I think two or three were soft goals, individual errors,” said Jamil. “Many mistakes. We made a lot of substitutions, tried everyone, but they were not up to the mark. Maybe they didn’t believe in themselves. The players have to know that they have to capitalise on the chances they get (whenever fielded), or else they will not be tried again.”Until India conceded in the 28th minute, the hosts played with a rare conviction against a side that had some of the world’s best players: Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr upfront, PSG captain Marquinhos at the back, to name only a couple. There was something to cheer for India as Ryan Williams and Manvir Singh both tested the Brazil goalkeeper, while Apuia – remarkably calm in the middle – came up with a snap shot from distance.“It shows, if we have the belief, we can do well,” said Jamil. “The more matches we play, the better we will get. Personally, I think the players did not lag behind at the start. We did not play defensively. The build-up was good, the passing, movement, I liked the way we played. Then, one error, and everything changed.”Jamil must now galvanise his players again. In three days, there’s another big test, this time against former world champions Uruguay.
