India finished their trip to Nepal with a 2-1 win after an exceptional second-half display. Farukh Choudhary and Sunil Chhetri were the goalscorers for India. Whereas, Tej Tamang scored a consolation goal in the latter stages of the friendly.
As a result, Igor Stimac has been able to win his third-ever match as a head coach. However, India haven’t been a dangerous team in the past few matches under him. The players would now return to their respective clubs for the preparations for Durand Cup.
India will be facing Bangladesh on 4th October in the SAFF Championship in the Maldives. Will Stimac lead his team to glory or will India hit their rock bottom in the South Asian tournament?
A fine counter attacking display by India against Nepal
After a heavily criticized performance in the first friendly, Stimac’s Blue Tigers had a completely different game plan. They followed a much more attacking style of play and were being a constant threat in the initial few minutes.
However, Nepal were more focused and were able to ward off many attacks. But, in the 61st minute, Farukh Choudhary broke the deadlock. Unmarked Choudhary easily slotted the ball past the opponent goalkeeper.
India were allowing the opponents to attack more but the hosts were unable to capitalize. In the 80th minute, Sunil Chhetri got an excellent opportunity to launch a counter attack and successfully made it 2-0. Seven minutes later, Tamang scored a screamer. A long range effort that deservedly was left unnoticed by Indian custodian Amrinder Singh.
Head coach Igor Stimac was pleased with his side’s performance in the second friendly. He said,
“We need to congratulate the players on their attitude and their willingness to go and win the game. I especially need to appreciate my players because they were much more patient, waiting for the first goal, to open up the Nepali defence, and as you know, when that happens, everything is much easier.”
Now, the national team would be assembling before the SAFF Championship kicks off on October this year. India will face Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the group stage.
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