The Indian football team stamped their authority in the first game of the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 as they rolled past Mongolia 2-0. Both the goals for the Blue Tigers were scored in the first half as they rollicked past Mongolia.
Sahal Abdul Samad brought about the first goal for India inside the first two minutes. Anirudh Thapa had a lot of space in the right-wing and he gave a low cross towards the goal. The Mongolian goalkeeper faintly parried it away and it came in the course of Abdul Samad.
2️⃣ early goals helped @IndianFootball complete a routine victory over #Mongolia! 👌
Watch the #HeroIntercontinentalCup 2023 live on @StarSportsIndia 2, #StarSports 2 HD, @OfficialJioTV and @DisneyPlusHS! 📺#INDMNG #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #BlueTigers pic.twitter.com/Ht09EsKCvv
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) June 9, 2023
Samad wasted no time and slotted the ball home. The home crowd erupted into joy as the Indian football team had their noses ahead in the first few minutes of the game itself.
In the 24th minute of the game, India scored their 2nd goal in this game versus Mongolia. Lallianzuala Chhangte scored his 5th goal for India and his first goal since the 2019 Intercontinental Cup game against DPR Korea.
India are 2nd in the points table
Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023’s first game between Lebanon and Vanuatu saw the former win the game 3-1. Since they have a better goal advantage, they are in the 1st position. On the other hand, Sunil Chhetri and co. are in the 2nd position in the points table.
Both Vanuatu and Mongolia are reeling at the bottom of the table and have zero points beside their names at the moment in the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023.
Notably, this was the first time India played a competitive international match in Odisha, which is often regarded as the “Sports Capital of India”. And they started off on an auspicious note.
Sunil Chhetri’s men are looking to reclaim the coveted tournament
After their Hero Intercontinental Cup win in 2018, India failed to defend their title in the subsequent season. North Korea had won the tournament after they outclassed Tajikistan 1-0 in the finals.
Even though Sunil Chhetri had scored 3 goals, he couldn’t power India to the finals. All the matches of that tournament had taken place at the TransStadia Arena in Ahmedabad.
India next lock horns with Lebanon on 12th June 2023. The match will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar and is slated to begin from 7:30 PM (IST).
India Squad for Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh and Phurba Lachenpa Tempa.
Defenders: Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Mehtab Singh and Rahul Bheke.
Midfielders: Liston Colaco, Ashique Kuruniyan, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Rohit Kumar, Udanta Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lalengmawia Ralte, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rowllin Borges and Nandha Kumar.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Rahim Ali and Ishan Pandita.
Also read: Hero Intercontinental Cup: 3 Reasons Why India Might Win The Tournament
