2011-2021: How have India performed with and without Jeje Lalpekhlua?

The Mizo Sniper last played an international match against Bahrain at the Asian Cup 2019…

It has been nearly three years since Jeje Lalpekhlua last played an international match. The last time he played for the Blue Tigers was in the final group game of Asian Cup 2019 against Bahrain which India lost 1-0.

Since then a lot has changed in Lalpekhlua’s career. He missed the entire 2019-20 season due to a knee injury and was forced to undergo surgery. He came back in the 2020-21 season and donned the East Bengal jersey in the Indian Super League (ISL). He appeared in only seven ISL matches under coach Robbie Fowler and had one goal to show for his effort.

Post the knee surgery, Jeje hasn’t enjoyed a purple patch of form. While he is yet to sign for a club in the 2021-22 season, he has also not featured for India under coach Igor Stimac and understandably so. The Mizoram-born forward has a formidable record in international football. In 54 matches, he has scored 23 goals and is the highest active Indian goalscorer after skipper Sunil Chhetri.

At his peak, Lalpekhlua formed a lethal strike partnership with Chhetri and together the duo provided several memorable moments for Indian football fans to cherish. From 2011 to 2019, when the striker was an integral part of the Indian national team, the Blue Tigers won 28 matches out of the 54 they played and scored 75 goals.

India managed to qualify for the Asian Cup 2019 and also won three international trophies (SAFF Championship 2018, Tri-Nation Series 2017 and Intercontinental Cup 2018).

Coincidentally, since the former Chennaiyin FC striker got sidelined from the national side, the performance graph of the team has also gone down. India, in the last two years have scored 18 goals in 18 matches and have won just thrice. Obviously, the quality of the opposition matters in this case however, India are now more than ever reliant on Chhetri for goals.

How did India perform with Jeje Lalpekhlua in the team?

In the 54 international matches Jeje Lalpekhlua has appeared in for India, the Blue Tigers have won 28 matches with a win percentage of 51.85 per cent. India lost 15 matches and have drawn 11 with Jeje in the team.

The forward himself has scored 23 international goals in those 54 matches while India have managed to score 75 goals during that time which is 1.38 goals per game.

Date Match Result Jeje goals India goals
Mar 21, 2011 India 3-0 Chinese Taipei W 1 3
Mar 23, 2011 Pakistan 1-3 India W 2 3
Mar 25, 2011 Turkmenistan 1-1 India D 1 1
Jul 23, 2011 UAE 3-0 India L 0 0
Jul 28, 2011 India 2-2 UAE D 1 2
Aug 21, 2011 Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 India L 0
Aug 25, 2011 Guyana 2-1 India L 1
Nov 13, 2011 India 1-1 Malaysia D 1
Nov 16, 2011 India 3-2 Malaysia W 1 3
Dec 3, 2011 India 1-1 Afghanistan D 1
Dec 5, 2011 India 5-0 Bhutan W 5
Dec 7, 2011 India 3-0 Sri Lanka W 1 3
Dec 9, 2011 Maldives 1-3 India W 3
Dec 11, 2011 India 4-0 Afghanistan W 1 4
Sep 1, 2013 India 1-0 Pakistan W 1
Sep 3, 2013 Bangladesh 1-1 India D 1
Sep 5, 2013 India 1-2 Nepal L 1
Sep 9, 2013 Maldives 0-1 India W 1
Sep 11, 2013 Afghanistan 2-0 India L 0
Nov 15, 2013 India 1-1 Philippines D 1
Jun 11, 2015 India 1-2 Oman L 1
Jun 16, 2015 Guam 2-1 India L 1
Aug 31, 2015 India 0-0 Nepal D 0
Sep 8, 2015 India 0-3 Iran W 0
Oct 8, 2015 Turkmenistan 2-1 India L 1 1
Oct 13, 2015 Oman 3-0 India L 0
Nov 12, 2015 India 1-0 Guam L 1
Dec 25, 2015 Sri Lanka 0-2 India W 2
Dec 27, 2015 India 4-1 Nepal W 4
Dec 31, 2015 India 3-2 Maldives W 2 3
Jan 3, 2016 India 2-1 Afghanistan W 1 2
Mar 24, 2016 Iran 4-0 India L 0
Mar 29, 2016 India 1-2 Turkmenistan W 1
Jun 2, 2016 Laos 0-1 India W 1 1
Jun 6, 2016 India 6-1 Laos W 2 6
Sep 3, 2016 India 4-1 Puerto Rico W 1 4
Mar 22, 2017 Cambodia 2-3 India W 1 3
Mar 28, 2017 Myanmar 0-1 India W 1
Jun 6, 2017 India 2-0 Nepal W 1 2
Aug 19, 2017 India 2-1 Mauritius W 2
Aug 24, 2017 St. Kitts & Nevis 1-1 India D 1
Sep 5, 2017 Macau 0-2 India W 2
Oct 11, 2017 India 4-1 Macau W 1 4
Nov 14, 2017 India 2-2 Myanmar D 1 2
Mar 27, 2018 Kyrgyz Republic 2-1 India L 1 1
Jun 1, 2018 India 5-0 Chinese Taipei W 5
Jun 4, 2018 India 3-0 Kenya W 1 3
Jun 7, 2018 India 1-2 New Zealand L 1
Jun 10, 2018 India 2-0 Kenya W 2
Oct 13, 2018 China 0-0 India D 0
Dec 27, 2018 India 0-0 Oman D 0
Jan 6, 2019 Thailand 1-4 India W 1 4
Jan 10, 2019 India 0-2 UAE L 0
Jan 14, 2019 India 0-1 Bahrain L 0
Total 54 W (28), D (11), L (15) 23 75

How did India perform without Jeje Lalpekhlua in the team?

Since Jeje Lalpekhlua’s last international match, India have played 18 matches so far where they have managed to win only three games with a win percentage of 16.67 per cent. They lost seven games and drawn eight. In these 18 matches, the Blue Tigers have scored 18 goals which is just one goal per game.

Date Match Result India goals
June 5, 2019 Curacao 3-1 India L 1
June 8, 2019 India 1-0 Thailand W 1
July 7, 2019 India 2-4 Tajikistan L 2
July 13, 2019 India 2-5 DPR Korea L 2
July 16, 2019 India 1-1 Syria D 1
September 5, 2019 India 1-2 Oman L 1
September 10, 2019 Qatar 0-0 India D
October 15, 2019 India 1-1 Bangladesh D 1
November 14, 2019 Afghanistan 1-1 India D 1
November 19, 2019 Oman 1-0 India L
March 25, 2021 Oman 1-1 India D 1
March 29, 2021 UAE 6-0 India L
June 3, 2021 India 0-1 Qatar L
June 7, 2021 Bangladesh 0-2 India W 2
June 15, 2021 India 1-1 Afghanistan D 1
September 2, 2021 Nepal 1-1 India D 1
September 5, 2021 Nepal 1-2 India W 2
October 4, 2021 Bangladesh 1-1 India D 1
Total 18 W (3), L (7), D (8) 18

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