The Blue Tigers had a disappointing end to their King’s Cup 2023 campaign as they suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Lebanon. Igor Stimac’s men thus finished last among the 4 teams and return empty-handed from Thailand.
Heading into the game, India were confident as they had defeated Lebanon 3 times in this team. But football is not played on stats and is played on the ground and India faltered in this match to end up losing the 3rd place game.
Kassam El Zain netted the solitary goal for Lebanon in the 77th minute of the game as the Sandesh Jhingan’s side faced a defeat at the hands of Lebanon for the first time in this year.
“Of course, we are disappointed we didn’t win. We dominated the whole match. I need to see the goal again, if it was offside, it’s a joke. Last game, it was never a penalty. IF this one is offside, it’s a joke. I hope it’s onside because if it’s not, it’s a horrendous decision,” said Team India skipper Sandesh Jhingan post the match.
India had lost the first game against Iraq
The Blue Tigers had lost the previous game in the ongoing King’s Cup 2023 at the hands of top-ranked Iraq. After the game ended in a 2-2 stalemate, the penalty round witnessed a sharp heartbreak for India as they lost to Iraq, 4-5.
There were huge signs of positivity from that game as it was end-to-end action but, in the end, Iraq emerged out victorious in the game. Refereeing in the game was poor as the two penalty decisions that were awarded to Iraq were highly controversial.
After their bronze medal in the King’s Cup 2019 edition, India failed to win anything from the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai in Thailand.
Gaffer Igor Stimac made a plethora of changes in the 2nd half to pull things back but things didn’t work in favour of them. India had to throw the kitchen sink after the goal took place in the fag end of the game but things didn’t work in favour of the Blue Tigers in this match.
Team India Squad King’s Cup 2023
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Gurmeet Singh.
Defenders: Asish Rai, Nikhil Poojary, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra.
Midfielders: Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Brandon Fernandes, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Ashique Kuruniyan, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Rahul KP.
Also read: FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Highlights: Most Goals, Assists, Clean Sheets, Winners, Know All
