The Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal had an auspicious beginning as the first ever international game in this stadium witnessed India’s victory.
Igor Stimac’s India registered a narrow 1-0 victory over Myanmar in the opening game of the Hero Tri-Nation Series 2023.
Head Coach Igor Stimac didn’t play his strongest playing XI as he wanted to give chances to the young guns and in this process, also handed out a few debuts to the players.
India had several chances to score in the game but the Blue Tigers squandered the opportunities to score in this Hero Tri-Nation Series 2023 game.
In the 9th minute of the game, Sunil Chhetri had a chance to score a header but it went above the crossbar.
Anirudh Thapa had whipped in a cross from the left flank but the Indian captain didn’t have enough control on that ball.
Once again in the 14th minute of the game, India had a chance to score. Yasir Ali took a set-piece corner and he curled in the perfect ball towards the middle.
Sunil Chhetri got into position but once again his header went wide above the crossbar.
In the 45+1 minute of the game, Rahul Bheke gave an inch-perfect low cross from the right wing.
It was stopped by a defender of Myanmar but in the deflection, it came right in the path of Anirudh Thapa.
And the skipper of Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) didn’t miss the opportunity.
He fired the goal straight past the goalkeeper to give India the lead.
The lively first half was dominated by India and the crowd was behind them.
The entire crowd were on their feet all throughout the game and created an electrifying atmosphere inside the stadium.
Igor Stimac gave a couple of local Manipuri boys the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd and that added to the noise from the packed crowd.
Suresh Wangjam and Naorem Mahesh Singh were brought on in the 2nd half and this was loved by the crowd to the bits.
Notably, it was the national team debut of East Bengal FC’s Naorem Mahesh Singh.
The final score-line read 1-0 in favour of the Blue Tigers. Igor Stimac’s men will next lock horns with Kyrgyzstan on 28th March 2023 at the same venue.
The match is slated to begin from 6:00 PM (IST).
Indian football team for Hero Tri-Nation Series 2023
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Phurba Lachenpa Tempa, Amrinder Singh. Sandesh Jhingan, Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Chinglensana Konsham, Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, Pritam Kotal, Suresh Wangjam, Rohit Kumar, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Yasir Mohammad, Ritwik Das, Jeakson Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri (captain), Naorem Mahesh Singh
Also read: Hero Tri-Nation Series Tickets Booking: How To Book Tickets Of India’s Games, Venue, Dates
