AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers: India goes down 1-0 to UAE

Abdulla Idrees scores from a penalty kick in the 82nd minute as India suffers its first defeat in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers.

Published : Oct 28, 2021 11:07 IST , DUBAI

India's 1-0 defeat was its second in the competition. - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
India's 1-0 defeat was its second in the competition. - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
lightbox-info

India's 1-0 defeat was its second in the competition. - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Abdulla Idrees scored from a penalty kick in the 82nd minute as UAE defeated India 1-0 in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers at the Fujairah Stadium here on Wednesday.

Both of the Group E encounters ended in a similar fashion on the night. Oman got the better of Kyrgyz Republic thanks to a late penalty like the host UAE.

Igor Stimac made only one change to the team that won 2-1 against Oman in its previous game, having brought in Lalengmawia at the expense of Aniket Jadhav to make the midfield more compact against UAE.

The host went 1-2 down against the Kyrgyz Republic in its first outing of the qualifying campaign, three days ago. Both the teams started with a safety-first approach before Rahim Ali squeezed in to make room for himself in the six-yard-box, but before he could connect to the long throw-in by Asish, UAE goalkeeper Suhail Abdulla Almutawa collected the ball calmly.

ALSO READ - The Arrows platform made us confident as players, say India’s young footballers

Before the clock struck the half-hour mark, India launched back-to-back attacks but the opponents dealt with them to cut the scorer out of the equation. Ten minutes to the end of the regulation time, the host earned a penalty as Suresh brought Ali Saleh down inside the box. Defender Abdulla Idrees broke the deadlock from the spot-kick to hand UAE a crucial lead in the 82nd minute.

Suresh looked for the perfect atonement three minutes later as he picked up a stray ball on the edge of the opposition area, but his shot from outside the box went over the cross-bar. Stimac threw in Rohit Danu and Aniket Jadhav towards the end but the UAE defenders held their nerves to leave the ground with all three points.

Following the second match day, all the four teams are locked on three points each, with identical goal differences. The group topper will qualify for the finals in Uzbekistan next year, whereas four best runner-up nations will also join it.

UAE will lock horns with Oman before India faces Kyrgyz Republic at the same venue on Saturday.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment