Welcome to Sportstar's highlights of the India vs Afghanistan AFC Asian Cup qualifier Group D match played at the Salt Lake (VYBK) Stadium in Kolkata, India.
This was Aneesh Dey bringing you the pre-match buildup and live updates of the match.
That is all for today. Thanks for tuning in. Goodnight and take care.
REPORT:
How Group D Stands
Post-match comments
FULL TIME
90+6' Shot- Brandon shoots at goal but it is saved by the keeper. India moments away from victory.
90+4' India wins a corner. That should do for the Blue Tigers. All they have to do is keep the ball.
90+2' What a game of football this has been. However, Afghanistan is not done.
90+1' GOOOAAAALLLLL!! INDIA SCORES AGAIN!! SAHAL SCORES!! Ashique and Sahal combine initially and exchange a couple of passes. Ashique holds up the ball realy well and threads a through ball to Sahal. Sahal aims for the far post with a grounded shot and beats the keeper.
Five added minutes!!
90' India Subs: IN- Udanta Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad OUT- Manvir Singh and Sunil Chhetri.
88' GOOOAAALLLL!! AFGHANISTAN WITH THE EQUALIZER!! IT IS AMIRI!!! Where was the marking? Amiri with a wonderful glancing header, beats Gurpreet at his near-post. The Indian keeper had no chance there.
86' GOOOOAAALLL!! INDIA SCORES!! SUNIL CHHETRI ONCE AGAIN!! Who else but Sunil Chhetri?? The Indian skipper places his freekick wonderfully to beat Afghanistan keeper Faisal. The Salt Lake Stadium has erupted.
85' Afghanistan Sub: IN- Fareed Sadat OUT- Noor Husin.
83' Zazai brings down Ashique near the Afghanistan box and India with a brilliant chance to make something of this freekick. A goal now will surely be a killer blow.
78' Ashique with a wonderful cut back to Brandon. Brandon, who had time to take a touch, goes for a first-time shot and skies his effort.
74' Save- A beautiful cross delivered to Zazai by Musawi . Zazai, unmarked, catches the ball brilliantly and volleys the ball towards goal but Gurpreet gets down well and makes a great save.
73' Close- Anwar connects well with Brandon's cross from a corner. But he cannot keep his effort on the target.
72' Afghanistan Sub: IN- Zubayr Amiri and Mustafa Zazai OUT- Qamaruddin and Faysal Sahyesteh.
70' Shot- Ashique with a thundering shot out of nowhere. Afghanistan keeper Faisal was well-beaten as the ball flashes pass the post.
68' Afghanistan Booking- Haroon Amiri sees yellow for bringing down Chhetri from the back.
67' India Sub: IN- Glan Martins OUT- Jeakson Singh.
66' Jeakson is struggling a bit and it is the end of the night for him. Glan Martins to replace him most probably.
63' Close- Popalzay finds Haydary with a wonderful cross. Haydary had all the time to find a corner but he heads the ball out of play. That was Afghanistan's best chance of the match.
62' Intezar is okay to continue, which is a good sight to see.
62' Milad Intezar has an issue and is currently on the ground getting medical attention.
59' Faisal tries to cross the ball inside the box but it is blocked well by Roshan and the ball goes out for an Afghanistan corner.
56' India Sub: IN- Brandon Fernandes OUT- Liston Colaco.
53' Jeakson beats two defenders with a clever turn. He sends the ball to Liston, who threads a wonderful through ball to Ashique. Ashique tries to deliver a low cross but it blocked for an Indian corner.
50' Close- Mishra floats a wonderful cross inside the box. The cross finds Manvir who heads the ball back to Chhetri. The ball took a long time to come down and all Chhetri had to do was keep his header on target. But the skipper fails to do so. Best chance of the match by a distance.
48' Afghanistan has started well in the second. It is showing plenty of intent inside India's box and the Blue Tigers having to defend a lot early in the second half.
46' Good news for India and its fans- Jhingan has started the second half. His injury at the end of the first half suggested he might be subbed off during half-time.
46' Afghanistan Sub: IN- Omid Musawi OUT- Mustafa Azadzoy
WE ARE BACK FOR THE SECOND HALF!!
Half-time (Afghanistan 0-0 India)
45+3' Popalzay with a cross inside the box but it goes straight to Gurpreet.
45+2' Jhingan gets up and by the look of it, his jogging suggests he is okay to carry on for now. India will hope he is okay.
45+1' Worrying signs for India. Jhingan has pulled up and has gone down clutching his calf.
Three additional minutes!!
45' Sunil Chhetri tries to get a shot away with an acrobatic effort but he cannot get a proper connection.
44' Chhetri's cannot clear the wall with his shot. The rebound falls to Anwar who shoots but the shot is blocked again.
42' Noor Husin stops Liston by pulling his shirt and it is an Indian freekick in a delicious position. Chhetri to take it.
38' Manvir, in space, cuts back to Jeakson. Jeakson's first touch is disappointing and he cannot get his shot away. It is a goalkick for Afghanistan.
36' Shot- Roshan tries to beat Faisal at his near-post by shooting from an ambitious distance. The keeper makes a save as the ball bounces awkwardly in front of him.
35' Afghanistan Sub: IN- Omid Popalzay OUT- Sharif Mukhammad.
33' Liston delivers a good corner but the ball is punched away by Afghanistan keeper Faisal.
32' Worrying signs for the Afghans as Sharif has gone down clutching his hamstring. Looks like there can be an early change for Afghanistan.
30' Akash with a bursting run down the left flank. He tries to get a cross in but it blocked by Sharif.
29' Liston with a good run but he is brought down near the Afghanistan box. However, it was a legit challenge and not foul is given.
26' A good passage of pressure by the Afghans as the Indians were being made to chase the ball. It ends with a mispass. It is a goalkick for India.
23' Ashique grapples with Farshad and a tussle has broken out between the players. The referee has a talk with them and Farshad is shown a yellow card for swinging his elbow at Ashique.
21' The Afghans work out a short corner but cannot get the ball inside the box. India sends the ball out for another corner.
20' Afghanistan gets its first corner of the match.
19' A sloppy back pass by Anwar Ali to his keeper. Fortunately, Gurpreet had enough time to come out and clear any impending danger.
17' India leading possession stats with 58% of the ball compared to Afghanistan's 42%. However, it is what both teams do with the ball that matters.
16' Close- Roshan delivers a beautiful ball from the corner. He finds Jeakson and the latter gets his head to it. However, the glancing header is not on target.
15' A fifth corner for India- Roshan Singh to take it.
14' Ashique and Akash combine well to break the Afghan defence. Akash aims for Chhetri with a low cross but the skipper cannot get a touch as the ball is cleared for a corner.
12' Colaco connects well with the ball. His shot had power but he did not get the dip as the ball goes out of play.
11' Another foul on Liston- this time it is by Afghanistan captain Farshad. The freekick is in Liston Colaco range. He can hit them hard.
10' Noor Husin tries to take the ball from Liston but ends up fouling him. The Indian proved too quick for him that time.
9' A good counter by Afghanistan but it ends as Suresh snatches the ball from Azadzoy. Disciplined defending by the Indians.
8' Seven minutes in and India already have its third corner. The intent is clear by the Blue Tigers.
6' The ball fell kindly for Manvir and he makes a run inside the box. He cuts in and tries to pull the trigger but a timely tackle blocks the shot.
4' Ashique with a cross inside the box from the left but it is cleared easily. Sunil Chhetri was lurking around but could not reach the ball.
4' A sudden wave of pressure by Afghanistan as the Indians are pegged back inside their own half. Right now, the Afghans are pressing well.
2' One thing India can't complain of today is the support- the atmosphere is rocking inside the Salt Lake Stadium.
1' Ashique with a surging run down the left flank. He tried to cross the ball but he ran out of ground.
1' KICK-OFF
8:30 pm- AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!!
8:25 pm- National anthems being played right now. Kick-off moments away.
8:15 pm- Just fifteen minutes to kick-off! Stay tuned!
8:00 pm- Form Guide of both the teams
7:45 pm: HEAD-TO-HEAD:
India (ranked 106th) and Afghanistan (ranked 150th) have met 15 times, out of which the Blue Tigers have won nine times. Afghanistan has won one and five matches have ended in a draw.
The Blue Tigers have scored a total of 33 goals and the Lions of Khorasan have scored eight.
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Both teams met for the first time in the 1951 Asian Games semifinal in New Delhi. India won the match 3-0 with Pansanttom Venkatesh, Sheoo Mewalal, and Santosh Nandy scoring for the host.
The last time both teams met, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Technically both goals in the match were scored by the Lions of Khorasan. Ovays Azizi of Aghanistan scored an own goal while Hossein Zamani scored the other.
7:35 pm- Starting lineups are out!
India: Gurpreet(GK), Jhingan, Mishra, Anwar, Roshan, Jeakson, Liston, Suresh, Manvir, Chhetri(C), Aashique.
Coach: Igor Stimac
Afghanistan: Faisal(GK), David, Haroon, Milad, Sharif, Noor, Farshad(C), Mustafa, Faysal, Ahmad, Qamaruddin
Coach: Anoush Dastgir
7:15 pm- Our predicted XI for tonight's match!
MATCH PREVIEW
India will be looking to consolidate its position in the league standings when it takes on a strong Afghanistan side in the second round of the group D league fixtures of the AFC Asian Cup’s final round qualification, at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.
Having won its first match against Cambodia comfortably, India will have a more difficult task in the second meeting a more formidable opposition in the Afghans.
Measuring the threat perception ahead of the upcoming action, the Indian head coach Igor Stimac felt the “winning attitude” of the Afghanistan side will be the biggest challenge for his side. “Afghanistan will be coming out with a winning attitude which is based on the fact that many of their players have international football experience which is much higher than the level of ISL (Indian Super League).
They get their confidence and arrogance from there,” Stimac said.
India enjoys a much better head-to-head record against Afghanistan. The Blue Tigers have won nine and lost just once in the 15 occasions the two national sides have met. Five matches have ended in a draw.
However, Stimac’s assessment of his opponent was largely based on the last two meetings (in the initial phase of Asian Cup qualifiers) where the Afghans seemed to be more dominant as India looked happy to be holding on to a draw.
Stimac set out the plan of action saying that his boys should be ready to play the aggressor this time. “We have to be ready to take control of the ball and make the opponent run. It should not be a situation where we chase their players,” he said. Stimac indicated will be looking for some changes in his side looking at the strengths of the Afghans but insisted on preferring a youthful side with players who can “play with speed and intensity.”
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There is a chance of Rahul Bheke getting back from injury to bolster the Indian defence, which seemed to suffer from a lack of cohesiveness against Cambodia.
“He (Rahul) should be ready. He will be competing for the starting lineup,” Stimac said while adding that the team will be decided after the final training session as the match against Cambodia seems to have been added to the injury list.
“We still haven't decided on that. There's still another night ahead of us, another training session. So we need to see how the players recover. But what I am sure about is we need all fully fit players and not anyone with any kind of injury on the pitch. So tomorrow after the team meetings and video meetings, we will decide on the starting lineup. But all options are open,” he said.
Afghanistan coach Anoush Dastgir hoped his team will be able to put the first-round loss to Hong Kong behind and make a turnaround against India. “It is a do-or-die match for us and I hope my players learn from the mistakes of the first match and give their 100 percent on the field against India. I know it will be a great game and we get the win that we have missed in the last two matches,” the Afghanistan coach stressed.
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“This match is going to be interesting as we know India very well and India has got a very good idea about us,” he added.
The Afghanistan side is formed out of players settled mostly in Europe. But what the team seems to be missing is proper communication in crucial situations, which the coach hoped will be getting better in the second match.
“The first match often is very hard. We have analysed our mistakes in the first match where we played really bad in the first 30 minutes. We killed ourselves there as Honk Kong scored both the goals within that time. We need to play more cohesively against India and ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes,” Dastgir said before signing off.
Cambodia will take on Hong Kong, which is the other team with a win in the first round, at 5 pm at the same venue before India meets Afghanistan at 8.30 pm.
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