India were beaten 1-6 by Uruguay in Kolkata despite Anirudh Thapa’s equaliser, as Diego Forlan’s side scored five more goals to seal a comfortable winRead on for the full story.
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/football/india-score-historic-goal-but-uruguay-hammer-blue-tigers-6-1-in-kolkata-8533534/
Anirudh Thapa celebrates after scoring India’s goal against Uruguay in Kolkata(Photo: IANS)
India suffered another heavy defeat in the international window as two-time former world champions Uruguay beat Khalid Jamil’s side 6-1 in an international friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium on TuesdayAnirudh Thapa’s first-half equaliser briefly gave the home team hope, but Uruguay took control after the break.
India had shown good attacking intent early in the game and looked capable of troubling the South American sideHowever, Uruguay’s quality eventually proved too much as they scored five more goals after Thapa’s equaliser.
Nunez gives Uruguay early lead
Uruguay started the match with more control and took the lead in the 11th minutePramveer, who came into the defence in place of Bijoy Verghese, brought down Federico Vinas inside the box.
Darwin Nunez stepped up for the penalty and made no mistake, sending Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the wrong way to give Uruguay a 1-0 advantage.
India responded strongly instead of dropping backRyan Williams tested goalkeeper Thiago Cardozo from outside the box, and although the keeper stopped the shot, he could not hold it.
Thapa reacted quickly to the loose ball and put the rebound into the net in the 22nd minute.
Thapa brings India back into the game
The equaliser created one of the biggest moments of the evening, with the crowd coming alive inside the Salt Lake StadiumThe official attendance eventually reached 37,307 after the match had started with several empty sections.
India continued to look dangerousEdmund Lalrindika, who replaced Sahal Abdul Samad, came close to scoring after Williams played him through, but Santiago Mourino made a timely sliding challenge.
Mohammed Sanan also tested Uruguay after coming on as a substituteHis powerful 70th-minute effort looked on target, but Cardozo managed to get his fingertips to the ball.
Uruguay regain control after rain delay
The match was stopped for 34 minutes because of lightning, and the break appeared to hurt India’s momentum.
Uruguay quickly restored their lead after the restartNahitan Nandez received space on the right and sent a low ball into the box, where Maximiliano Araujo finished from close range in the 28th minute.
Rodrigo Zalazar then made it 3-1 in the 53rd minute with a powerful shot into the bottom corner after receiving the ball from Nunez.
Araujo added his second in the 59th minute after Vinas played him into the box, giving Uruguay a comfortable advantage.
India end international window with heavy defeat
Uruguay continued to find gaps in India’s defence, with substitutes Juan Sanabria and Rodrigo Aguirre adding two more goals to complete the 6-1 win.
Gurpreet made several important saves and also denied Nunez in a one-on-one situation, but he could do little as Uruguay increased the pressure.
The result means India ended the international window with a 1-1 draw against Panama before losing 0-4 to Brazil and 1-6 to Uruguay within three days.
For Uruguay, the victory also gave Diego Forlan a second win as head coachThe former Uruguay star had started his tenure with a 1-3 defeat to Japan before his team beat South Korea 4-1 in their previous outing.
