Promise without payoff: India U23’s bittersweet Asian Cup qualifying run

For half an hour on a humid Tuesday night in Doha, India’s U23s allowed themselves to dream.

They had just put six goals past Brunei, Vibin Mohanan scoring a hat-trick and Mohammed Aimen adding two late thunderbolts, and suddenly the mood was buoyant.

The players lingered on the pitch, eyes flicking to their phones, staff huddled over live feeds. The equation was out of their hands now: Bahrain had to beat Qatar.

Kick-off at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium was only half an hour away.

For 90 minutes, there was anticipation. For 90 minutes, India were alive. And then, as Bahrain led into stoppage time, there was belief.

Until Qatar turned it around with two goals at the death, ending India’s campaign with the cruelty only football can conjure.

Six points from three games, a second-place finish in the group, but just outside the cut for the best runners-up. This one will sting.

A campaign full of belief

The opening 2-0 win over Bahrain was everything coach Naushad Moosa could have asked for: organised at the back, incisive on the counter, and clinical when it counted.

Muhammed Suhail announced himself with a goal that oozed individual quality, and substitute Shivaldo Singh sealed it deep into stoppage time.

It was a statement that India wasn’t in Doha just to make up the numbers.

Four days later, against hosts Qatar, that belief was put through the wringer.

India began brightly, Suhail again at the heart of things, but a headed goal from Al Hashmi Mohialdin tilted the game Qatar’s way.

When Suhail equalised after the break, it felt like the Blue Colts had wrested momentum back.

And then came the turning point: Pramveer’s clumsy foul in the box, the inevitable second yellow, and Jassem Al Sharshani’s penalty.

Reduced to 10 men, India fought gamely but fell 2-1. “It was a great fight by the team, I’m proud of them,” Moosa said later. That pride was real, but so was the nagging sense of a missed opportunity.

By the time Brunei came around, the brief was simple: score, and score plenty.

Moosa freshened up his XI, handed Vibin and Ayush Chhetri starts, and India ran riot.

Vibin bossed the midfield with a hat-trick, Chhetri got on the scoresheet, and Aimen lit up the final minutes with two unstoppable strikes. The 6-0 was emphatic — but it still left India waiting.

How Moosa used his players

Over the three matches, Moosa struck a balance between continuity and flexibility.

Sahil in goal, captain Bikash Yumnam marshalling the defence, and Suhail leading the line formed a core that never changed.

Around them, Moosa adjusted his supporting cast: Sanan and Gogoi offered width against Bahrain and Qatar, while Vibin and Chhetri brought creativity and bite against Brunei.

Some players were trusted to tilt games from the bench.

Aimen and Shivaldo became impact weapons, stretching tired defences and chipping in with goals.

Moosa kept their energy in reserve, though at times,  most notably against Qatar, that caution meant the spark arrived too late.

Still, he ensured most of the squad got meaningful minutes, blending experience with fresh legs.

What it means

This was a campaign of thin margins.

A yard’s difference on an Aimen corner against Qatar, or one calmer decision in defence, and India’s U23s might well be preparing for the Asian Cup.

Instead, they return with lessons: Suhail’s emergence as a genuine attacking threat, Vibin’s growing influence in midfield, and Moosa’s insistence on focus against any opposition.

“Such games are very challenging… I just want my boys not to relax,” the coach said before Brunei.

His words reflected the reality of international football — intensity and concentration are non-negotiable.

For all the disappointment, there was plenty to admire.

India competed toe-to-toe with the hosts, put away two weaker sides with authority, and showed glimpses of a generation that could step up.

The Asian Cup dream is deferred, not denied.