India played Lebanon in the Intercontinental Cup football event on Thursday in Bhubaneswar, but they were unable to score since they failed to take use of their opportunities.
Head coach Igor Stimac continued his approach of making healthy changes to his starting XI by benching many veterans, including attacker Sunil Chhetri and goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Sandesh Jhingan, a defensive stalwart, took Chhetri’s place as captain.
However, the outcome was irrelevant since both teams had already qualified for the four-nation competition final. There were two more teams competing in the competition: Mongolia and Vanuatu.
Chhetri, who was introduced in the 82nd minute, got a flawless pass from Anirudh Thapa, but the India skipper was unable to score.
Five minutes into the game, India would have been up 1-0, but Anirudh Thapa wasted a golden opportunity after being set up by Lallianzuala Chhangte and having only the opposing goalie to beat. He was limited to shooting the ball away.
After a wonderful play inside the box, Ashique Kuruniyan missed another opportunity about twenty minutes into the game by hitting the ball straight to the Lebanese goalie.
The sides entered the halftime break without a goal thanks to India’s two squandered opportunities.
In the second half, which also saw the floodlights go out for a few minutes, it very much remained the same manner since neither side was able to find the goal.
Both India and Lebanon made a few adjustments in the hopes of breaking the tie, but to no effect, as the score stayed constant till the final siren.
Last Friday, India defeated Mongolia 2-0 to begin their campaign. Three days later, on Monday, they defeated Vanuatu 1-0.
Lebanon also got off to a winning start, defeating Vanuatu 3-1, followed on Monday by a scoreless draw with Mongolia.
Stimac claimed he was pleased with the outcome despite the scoreless tie.
“Very pleased with the performance of the guys. We anticipated being put to the test more than once, and that is precisely what occurred. That will occur when you play against opponents of higher calibre.
“Another clean sheet, plenty of opportunities to score big, and ultimately, I’m really sad for the guys because it didn’t work out. We’ll win in three days the next time, he assured.
India mostly dominated the game’s pace, although Lebanon was dangerous on the break. Hassan Maatouk, the team’s captain, veered towards the outside of the box in the tenth minute before sending a strong shot over the crossbar.
Karim Darwich had a clean shot at the goal on another such burst forward, but Jhingan placed his body in danger just as the Lebanese winger pulled the trigger.
As the Player of the Match, Jhingan remarked, “A clean sheet means a lot to you as a center-back. If you can maintain a clean sheet as a team, the side gains momentum. The coaching staff and squad deserve praise; we put in a lot of effort, seize opportunities, and the sky’s the limit for us.
