Bhubaneswar: The Indian Men’s Football team started the Intercontinental Cup with an easy win of 2-0 against Mongolia.
Sahal Abdul scored an early opener followed by Lallianzuala Chhangte’s volley in the 14th minute. It was the maiden competitive match in Kalinga Stadium for the Blue Tigers.
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In the opening game of the tournament, Lebanon beat Vanuatu 3-1 to lead the table standings in a matter of goals scored. The India-Mongolia match was addressed by the honourable Cheif Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik who met both the teams and congratulated them. All India Football President Mr. Kalyan Chaubey and Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran were also present on the occasion.
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India started the fame in a blistering way and got the lead with Sahal Abdul scoring the opener. Anirudh Thapa got a free spot down the right wing and sent a low ball into the box. Mongolian goalkeeper Enkhtaivan Munkh-Erdene palmed the ball to Sahal who scored his third national goal.
The second goal for team India also enroute Anirudh Thapa which came just 12 minutes after the opener. Sandesh Jhingan’s header towered down a right swinging Anirudh Thapa’s corner which was cleares off the line by Batbold Baljinnyam. The rebound met Jhingan again, before Chhangte who was in plain sight, pounced on the ball in a flash. Chhangte volleyed the ball into the net with the outside of his left boot. Chhangte’s goal was his first for India since scoring against DPR Korea in the 2019 Intercontinental Cup in Ahmedabad.
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Udanta and Chhangte’s pace was well matched with well maintained Thapa, Sahal and Apuia that caused Mongolia the defeat. Sahal and Apuia made attempts from the edge that slightly fizzed over the crossbar. A slick exchange of passes between Sahal and Udanta released the latter inside the box before collapsing under a Mongolian challenge, but the referee waved play on.
Despite their dominance in the first half, India’s defence was put to the test. In one of Mongolia’s occasional ventures into the Indian box, Anwar Ali made a terrific last-ditch effort to sweep the ball off the feet of Baljinnyam Batmunkh.
The Blue Tigers played more meticulously in the second half as their East Asian opponents sat back and defended in numbers. Thapa, on the other hand, kept the Mongolian defenders guessing with his set-piece deliveries. Another of his right-footed crosses was met with a header from substitute Rohit Kumar in the 83rd minute, but it hit the crossbar.
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Team India will next play Vanuatu on Monday, June 12 at 19:30 IST.
Final Score :
India 2 ( Sahal Abdul Samad 2′, Lallianzuala Chhangte 14′)
Mongolia 0
