India vs Australia highlights, IND 0-2 AUS, AFC Asian Cup 2023: Blue Tigers lose opening match as Bos, Irvine find the net for Socceroos

India suffers a 2-0 loss against Australia in their opening Group B match of the AFC Asian Cup 2023. 

Pinball football going on inside the Indian box right now. The Australian players are having a go at goal but somehow, the Indians have managed to block every single one of them. There was altleast five shots on the trot. 

IND booking: Vikram Partap Singh sees a yellow card minutes after coming in. 

Some positives for the Blue Tigers as the match nears its conclusion. In the first half, Stimac’s men showed excellent communication in defence to keep Australia at bay. Something to carry forward in their next match against Uzbekistan. 

Six minutes added at the end of the first-half!

IND subs: IN- Vikram, Mahesh OUT- Chhangte, Chhetri 

Bos finds himself with all the time and space as he gets the ball on the left side of India’s penalty area. He takes his time and goes for a low, hard shot towards the far-corner. But he cannot find the target this time. 

The ball falls kindly for Liston in the middle of the park and the latter goes for a flamboyant first-time shot from miles out. The effort, however, is disappointing and Ryan collects the ball easily. 

AUS sub: IN- O’Neill OUT- Baccus 

Fornaroli takes the freekick. He catches his shot well, keeping it hard and fairly low but Gurpreet matches it with a solid save. The ball had power but was at a comfortable height for the Indian keeper. 

Apuia concedes a freekick right at the edge of the box after bringing down Silvera. Australia has a chance to make it three. 

Fornaroli almost slips a clever ball for Mcgree in the Indian box. It was a race to the ball between Gurpreet and Mcgree, which the former won.

IND sub: IN- Thapa OUT- Tangri 

IND subs: IN- Mishra, Colaco OUT- Subhasish, Suresh 

Jordan Bos scores with his first touch of the game after coming on as a substitute. Mcgree showed good strength to make an excellent run and get inside the India box. He spots Bos free at the far-post and finds him with the pass for the latter to score with an easy finish. 

AUS subs: IN- Goodwin, Duke OUT- Bos, Fornaroli 

Australia moments away from conceding a bizarre goal. India presses high, which leads to Australia losing the ball at the back and the backpass had too much power heading through to goal, with Ryan way off his line. However, the ball changed its path in the end along with Ryan recovering from what could have been a horrible mistake. 

Chhangte gets the ball and tries to get past his marker on the left touchline. Ryan had initially come up to clear the ball but retreated at the last moment, leaving his goal empty. There was a chance for Chhangte to shoot from distance into the empty net, but he could manage to get a shot away. 

AUS subs: IN- McGree, Silvera OUT- Metcalfe, Boyle 

Duke has a chance to take a shot at goal from the edge of the box but he delays his shot, which allows Bheke to close him down. In the end, Duke goes for a shot from a tight angle, which Bheke blocks to concede a corner. 

Sunil Chhetri has been an isolated figure up top, more so in the second-half. Most of the play has been restricted to India’s half. India needs to try and create openings if it wants to salvage anything from the match. 

Australia will know better than to sit back and protect a one-goal lead. Arnold’s men will surely look to bury the match by scoring more goals. 

A cross comes in from the left and Gurpreet comes out to collect the ball. He gets the touch but cannot hold on to the ball and it falls straight to Irvine. Keeping his calm, Irvine slots the ball inside the net to give a well-deserved lead to Australia. 

Goodwin tries to slip a through ball to Irvine inside the India box but Gurpreet reads the danger and comes off his line to collect the ball. 

Irvine cuts in from the left side of the Indian penalty area and goes for a curler. But he does not get power and direction right, as the ball goes out for a goalkick. 

Match level at 0-0 as the second-half between India and Australia gets underway at the Ahmad bin Ali stadium. 

Australia with clearly the better attacking in the first half but Igor Stimac’s men have shown some gritty defending to keep the match goalless at the break. 

Goodwin with a cutback and Metcalfe goes for a first-time shot. But the shot is blocked. The danger is not over over. This time, Bacchus goes for a shot but Jhingan puts his body on the line again to make the block. 

A chance for India as Suresh gets the ball. He has options around him but goes for a long-distance shot himself. The effort is weak and goes straight to the keeper. 

Five minutes added at the end of the first-half!

In the end, no harm was done as Tangri comfortably dealt with the corner, clearing the ball with a header. 

Igor Stimac is not happy because Jhingan has not been allowed on the pitch to defend Australia’s corner despite it being a coming-together. 

Jhingan clears the ball with a brave header but there is a clash of heads with Rowles. That was a painful one. Jhingan is down on the ground, receiving medical attention. 

Goodwin delivers another good cross inside the box. Metcalfe meets the cross with his head and guides it towards goal but Bheke gets a telling touch to send the ball out for a corner. 

Goodwin delivers a dangerous cross from a free-kick, as the Australians rushes towards goal to get in a header. But Manvir reaches the ball first and heads the ball away from a corner. 

Boyle does well to find Duke with a low cross from the right flank. Duke goes for a first-time shot but the effort is blocked courtesy of a lunging tackle by India. 

Gurpreet collects the ball and sees his counterpart Ryan way off his line. He immediately goes for a shot from inside his box but does not get the required power to send the ball all the way to the opposite net. 

A cross comes in from the left and Boyle goes for a first-time volley. However, he does not catch it well and skies his effort. A shot on target could have spelt trouble for India. 

Metcalfe almost gets a clerar run at goal but Poojary does well to intercept the ball. The danger isn’t over and Boyle tries to put in a cross but Bheke is there this time to block it and send the ball out for a corner. 

India soaks up the pressure from an Australian attack and the clearance finds Chhangte, who could have started a counter-attack. But, Chhangte takes too long in releasing the ball and he is dispossessed. 

As expected, Australia is enjoying the lion’s share of possession. India is mounting on the occasional attack but nothing substantial as of now. 

Gurpreet sends the ball straight to the opponent with a sloppy goalkick. Metcalfe gets the ball and shoots at goal. But the shot is straight at Gurpreet, who makes a save. A first-time shot might have been a better choice for the Australian. 

Metcalfe goes down near the India box and Australia looks for a foul. But the referee waves play to continue. 

Poojary bends a searching ball into the Australia box from the left and Sunil Chhetri meets the ball in a flash with his head. But the effort is not on target. If it was, India might have been 1-0 up. 

Australia is slowly making inroads into the Indian final third now. Lots of crosses coming in from the flanks, testing the Indian defence. But the Blue Tigers have maintained a good shape in defence till now. 

Bacchus looks to deliver a cross into the Indian box from the left flank. He tries to get past Subhasish with the help of some trickery but the Indian defender stands his ground to clear the ball. 

Chhangte leads the charge with a darting run down the left flank. His low cross finds Manvir at the near post. Manvir twists and turns, trying to create some space for himself but he could not hold on to the ball and loses possession. 

India invites pressure after losing the ball in the final third. Australia tries to pierce the backline but Subhasish Bose is there to intercept the danger and clear the ball for momentary respite. 

Behich finds himself with time and space and goes for a shot from distance. The effort, however, is nowhere near the target. 

Suresh threads an excellent through ball to Chhangte on the left flank. Chhangte goes for an early delivery but the ball just misses the head of Sunil Chhetri. That move invited a big roar from the Indian faithful inside the stadium. 

An attacking start to the match as both teams have pressed their opponent keepers into having an early touch in the match. Australia start as the heavy favourites. 

The first-half of the AFC Asian Cup Group B match between India and Australia is underway at the Ahmad bin Ali stadium. 

The teams are on the pitch and it is time for the national anthems. Kick-off moments away 

Credit: Reuters

India starting XI: Gurpreet(GK), Bheke, Subhasish, Jhingan, Suresh, Manvir, Chhetri (c), Chhangte, Apuia, Poojary, Tangri.

Australia starting XI: Ryan(C) (GK), Rowles, Boyle, Metcalfe, Duke, Behich, Baccus, Souttar, Irvine, Goodwin, Jones.

India’s campaign at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will start in a David versus Goliath battle, against the 2015 champion, Australia, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha on Saturday.

The Blue Tigers have qualified for consecutive editions of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time and have been drawn with Syria, Uzbekistan and the Socceroos in Group B.

But its first and biggest challenge in the group stage would be to don the robes of a giant killer against an opponent it last beat 67 years ago, at the Summer Olympics, under legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim.

“Obviously, it is going to be very difficult. We know their achievements, with their top players coming from top European leagues who play competitive football week in and week out. It is not going to be easy but we are here to embrace the challenge,” Igor Stimac, India’s head coach, said about Australia on Friday.

India had three first-team regulars – Anwar Ali, Ashique Kuruniyan and Jeakson Singh – unavailable during squad selection due to injuries.

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AFC Asian Cup 2023: India looks to don robes of a giant-killer against Australia; Uzbekistan favourites against Syria

India’s campaign at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will start in a David versus Goliath battle, against the 2015 champion, Australia, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha on Saturday.

When and where will the India vs Australia AFC Asian Cup 2023 match kick-off?

The India vs Australia AFC Asian Cup 2023 match will kick-off at 5 PM IST, Saturday, January 13 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar. 

Where can you watch the India vs Australia AFC Asian Cup 2023 match?

The India vs Australia AFC Asian Cup 2023 match will be live telecasted on the Sports18 network. 

The match will also be live streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website.