India look to turn Brazil lessons into positives against Uruguay
India will look to turn the lessons from their 0-4 defeat to Brazil into a better performance when they face two-time world champions Uruguay in a challenging FIFA international friendly here on Tuesday.
The heavy loss at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday brought India back to reality after they had held 44th-ranked Panama to a 1-1 draw in Bengaluru.
Yet head coach Khalid Jamil found enough encouragement in India's opening exchanges against Brazil, particularly their combination play, defensive organisation and willingness to counterattack.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti also acknowledged those aspects of India's game.
Against Uruguay, ranked 20th in the world, India will need to reproduce those positives for longer and improve considerably in the final third.
For a team ranked 138th in the world, scoring against Uruguay or even holding the South Americans to a draw would represent a significant result.
Ryan Williams is likely to remain India's biggest attacking threat. The Australian-born player of Indian origin scored India's goal against Panama and repeatedly looked to carry the ball at defenders against Brazil.
His movement, combined with Manvir Singh's direct running and Sahal Abdul Samad's ability to link play, gave India some attacking momentum in the early stages against Brazil.
Lalengmawia Ralte, Anwar Ali and Sahal also showed that India could play through pressure instead of simply clearing the ball.
India's defensive organisation was another bright spot early on. Their offside trap frustrated Brazil's Pedro on several occasions, while Abhishek Singh Tekcham and Anirudh Thapa provided cover against Vinicius Junior.
Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu also made an important one-on-one save against the Real Madrid forward before India conceded two avoidable goals.
The bigger concern was India's inability to convert promising moves into enough attempts on target.
Against Uruguay, Jamil's side will have to be more clinical while also tightening its defensive coordination.
The backline will need to judge better when to push forward and when to drop, while the midfield must protect the spaces between the full-backs and centre-backs and react faster when Uruguay switches play.
India will also need greater support around Williams and Manvir if their promising build-up play is to translate into genuine scoring chances.
Uruguay in transition
India could take some encouragement from the fact that Uruguay are also beginning a new phase.
Uruguay parted ways with coach Marcelo Bielsa following their shock group-stage exit from the 2026 World Cup, where they failed to win a match.
New coach Diego Forlan, the 2010 World Cup Golden Ball winner and one of Uruguay's most celebrated footballers, began his tenure with a 1-3 defeat in Japan.
They responded four days later with a 4-1 win over South Korea.
Uruguay will also be without influential midfielder Federico Valverde, who suffered a Grade-3 sprain to his left ankle during the Madrid derby last month.
The Real Madrid captain has remained in Spain and is expected to be sidelined for about a month.
His absence could affect Uruguay's midfield control, but the visitors still possess considerable physicality, technical quality and competitive experience.
Darwin Nunez remains a major threat in attack, with his pace and movement expected to test India's defence.
Ronald Araujo provides strength and experience at the back, while Lucas Torreira will be important in front of the defence.
Torreira, a key member of Galatasaray's Turkish Super Lig-winning side last season, offers positional discipline and defensive bite, making it difficult for India's midfielders to find space in central areas.
India will therefore have to be more precise in possession and more disciplined without the ball if they are to make the most of the lessons from Brazil.
For Jamil and his players, the challenge is to show that the first 25 minutes against Brazil were not merely a fleeting spell, but evidence of a style they can sustain against stronger opposition.