goalless India-Afghanistan match; Draw – FIFA World Cup | Indian Football Team | Afghanistan Football Team | Without Abha’s goal | Gulf News in Malayalam | Saudi Arabia News in Malayalam | Global Manorama | Manorama online India-Afghanistan goalless match; Divided in a tie
Published: March 22, 2024 04:14 PM IST
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The India-Afghanistan match in Saudi Arabia ended in a goalless draw. Photo to @All India football federation of India X platform
Abaha ∙ India-Afghanistan ended in a goalless draw in Saudi Arabia. The third match of the second phase of the joint qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia was played at the Abah Damak Stadium. With a draw in this match, India has secured 4 points and moved up to the second position in Group A which includes the country. At the start of the match, India’s spirited moves in the middle row and exchanges of the ball drew cheers from the supporting crowd in the galleries. In the game where the Afghan players tried to show their speed and strength, the Indian players made a strategy of passing the ball. Although the Indian team had a lot of support from the crowd, despite having the upper hand in the game, the Indian team had the misfortune of failing to score a goal throughout yesterday. After a few moves early in the game, the Indian midfield took control of the ball.
Vikram Partap Singh, who made his debut in the national team for the first time, made a lot of moves with Manweersingh in the front row and in the middle, causing problems for the Afghan defence. A good move by Lallianswala Changde and Manveer down the left was wasted. Although India were in control, Afghanistan shepherded them and found their opportunities. In one of the counter-attacking moves, Mosawar Ahadi took a left foot kick from the right side of the court and Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu saved it with both hands. Manveer had several chances to score in the first half. A corner from Changde and a cross from full-back Nikhil Pujari were India’s best chances to score in the first half.
It was Vikram Pratap’s turn to miss a good chance in the second half. Pratap twice got behind the Afghan defense but wasted. On the first occasion, Pratap got his head on Akash Mishra’s cross into the box but missed the goal post by inches. Coach Igor Stimac soon withdrew Prathap and replaced him with Brendan Fernandes, but the goal deficit did not change. Rahmat Akbari’s low cross was headed into the Indian box by Omid Popalzai in the 62nd minute as Afghanistan counter-attacked. But the move ended at the feet of defender Rahul Bheke.
Photo to @All India football X federation platform.
Liston Colaco, Mahesh Naurem and Deepak Tangri were replaced in the last 15 minutes of the game. Koloko’s occasional crosses from the right were not enough to overcome the Afghan defence. As the game headed into injury time, Colaco made a last-ditch effort, darting down the right and delivering a low cross. Captain Sunil Chhetri missed but reached Mahesh’s feet. The kick went wide as the ball missed and found a place to hit the net.
India and Afghanistan will meet again on March 26 in Guwahati for the home match of the Asian qualifying round for the FIFA World Cup. For India, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Goalie), Nikhil Pujari, Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra (Substitute-Subhashish Bose), Lalengmavia Ralde, Jackson Singh Thaunojam (Substitute-Deepak Tangri), Laliansuwala Changde (Substitute-Mahesh Naurem) , Sunil Chhetri (Captain), Manveer Singh (Substitute-Liston Colaco) and Vikram Partap Singh (Substitute-Brandon Fernandes).
Malayalee player Sahal Abdus Samad was injured during practice and did not enter the field. In the match which took place on Thursday night Saudi Arabia time, the galleries were full of Indians with their families cheering for their team. As Friday was a holiday, the Malayali diaspora community throughout Abaha took up the competition. The gallery waved the national flag at every move by the Indian players. Everyone gave their support to the national team with mouthfuls and claps that enlivened every move towards the penalty area. However, the expatriate community who filled the galleries from the stadium returned in the evening sharing the disappointment that India could not score a goal.
English Summary:
India and Afghanistan are playing out a goalless draw in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers
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