India lose to Oman, out of qualifiers
India crashed out of the AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers after suffering a 0-4 thrashing at the hands of hosts Oman in a must-win final league round match at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat.
The defeat late on Tuesday night meant the Indian colts not only failed to qualify for the final round of the qualifiers, but also lost out on a place in next year’s Asian Cup.
India finished their campaign with seven points from five matches, while Oman have 10 points from as many games, according to information received.
Hamood Saleh scored the first goal for Oman in the 54th minute while Faed Ibrahim scored the second in the 67th. Besides, Saleh Hadid and Mubarak Humaid got one apiece.
After a dominating first half, India lost their way. If it was all India in the first 45 minutes, the first 20 minutes of the second half settled the issue for the hosts.
India started on a bright note. They absorbed the initial pressure and slowly started the buildup. A Lalrindika Ralte freekick from striking zone struck the wall and Manandeep Singh’s powerful left footer was punched out by rival goalkeeper Mazin Masud in the 21st minute. Manandeep again broke free in the 30th minute and ran inside the box but Masud managed to keep him at bay.
For the hosts, 19-year old Raed Ibrahim stayed the pivot. Being a part of the Senior Oman side in the World Cup qualifiers, he was nippy and created problems for the Indian defence. But the two central defenders Prathamesh Maulingkar and and Shouvik Ghosh stood tall.
Alwyn George worried the rival defence, but Oman were not willing to allow him space he was suffocated at the top of the rival box. In the 43rd minute, his back volley sailed over.
Oman came back with more purpose in the second half. They didn’t allow the Indians to settle down and were eventually rewarded when Hamood Saleh tapped in a Abdullah Saleh pass in the 54th minute. Minutes later, Saleh’s header hit the post.
Jeje Lalpehlua was introduced in the 63rd minute in place of Romeo Fernandes. But Oman pressed hard and Faed Ibrahim made it 2-0 in the 67th minute after he had sneaked down the right. A minute after Faed’s goal, Manandeep’s header off a Dika corner missed by a whisker.
But Oman struck again. Pranay Halder brought down Badar Nasib inside the box and though Gurpreet Singh Sandhu kept the resultant penalty at bay, Hadid tapped in the rebound.
In the 88th minute, a Jeje rasper from the top box was saved by Mazin for a corner and off the counter attack, Mubarak Humaid made it 4-0.
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