India on Tuesday lost their third game on the trot against a formidable Syrian side who managed to score the solitary second-half goal to defeat the Indians 1-0. The defeat marked the end of India’s Asian Cup run this year, which overall was a disappointing run for the team as they failed to secure a single point or win in the tournament.
Sunil Chhetri’s boys tried hard to at least drag the match to a draw but Omar Khrbin 76th-minute goal got Syria the win. And so it concluded, with neither a goal nor a point gained. With respect to average ranking, India entered the 2024 Asian Cup’s strongest group with no expectations. With the exception of a lackluster first half versus Uzbekistan, they battled to manage three goalless halves against teams with superior ranking. In Tuesday’s 0-1 loss to Syria, Omar Khrbin’s shrewd goal in the 76th minute stopped a fourth.
Not an assault from Syria was the primary reason for India’s main fear in the first half. After putting his body in the way of Pablo Sabbag and his goal, Sandesh Jhingan stumbled and stayed there.
Even after receiving care from the medical team, Jhingan was shaky. The TV cameras then panned to Igor Stimac, and it didn’t take a professional lip reader to decipher that the head coach of India was signalling to his dependable central defense and waving his hand to see whether Jhingan was alright. Up until halftime, that is.
Following the interval, Jhingan collapsed and requested to be replaced. It required a rearrangement of the lineup, with Nikhil Poojary replacing Rahul Bheke at right back and Bheke shifting to central defense. Jhingan performed admirably as usual, but his central defensive partner Subhasish Bose stood out.
India was unable to correspond with Syria’s tenacity in the middle of the pitch, and their forward passes were not precise, despite the plan to exploit the wide players’ quickness on the break. Sahal Abdul Samad, who had been introduced in the 64th minute to thunderous cheers from the sizable gathering of Indian supporters, was likewise unable to alter that in his tournament start.
Despite everything they had, Syria wasn’t any better. They hadn’t scored a goal in the Asian Cup until Tuesday, much like India. That might have changed in the sixty-second minute when Akash Mishra attempted to handle the ball and lost possession rather than booting it out of danger. It headed to a Syrian cross that Khrbin was unable to approach unopposed.
