India Lose To Uzbekistan In Their First AFC U19 Championship Qualifier

India kicked off their AFC U19 Championship 2020 qualification campaign with a 2-0 loss against Uzbekistan on Wednesday at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

The two teams failed to break the deadlock until halftime and went into the break with the scoreline reading 0-0.

After the break though, both India and Uzbekistan came all guns blazing as a wave of attack kept the goalkeepers busy on both side of the field.

However, it was Uzbekistan who upped the ante by scoring twice in the second half to pick up the three points.

The Blue tigers had the opportunity to score just two minutes into the game as Gurkirat Singh bolted on to a loose ball in the middle and sprinted towards goal, but his effort went wide.

Three minutes later, the Indian skipper and goalie, Prabhsukhan Gill, rescued his team from a dangerous cross from the left flank with poise.

An important source of attacking threat for India was fullback Muhammed Rafi with his booming long throws into the penalty area. It almost paid dividends at the first attempt in the 16th minute with Uzbekistan needing a desperate clearance to get rid of the danger.

Six minutes later, there was another opportunity for India, this time through Vikram Partap Singh. Rafi’s throw-in and some sloppy defending by the Uzbek players, handed the Indian forward a chance to score, but his shot went wide.

India continued to ask tough questions from their opposition but somehow Uzbekistan managed to hold their ground.

Uzbekistan also created a number of chances but were denied by Gill, who stood tall in goal and repelled whatever was thrown at him. There was no separating the two teams in the first half.

After the break, Uzbekistan looked the more threatening side as they won a free-kick near the box in the 52nd minute, however the Indian defense tackled the danger successfully only to concede a minute later. Khoshimov Ulugbek put Uzbekistan on the score sheet as he converted a low cross from the right.

Gill produced a fine save in the 63rd minute as he pushed away a powerful effort from long range from Rakhimkulov Diyorbek. However, he could not do much as the Uzbeks scored again – this time through Olimjonov Muzaffar, who scored with volley from close range as the ball came in from a corner kick.

The Blue tigers tried hard to pull one back, but they didn’t succeed as the scoreline read 3-0 in favour of Uzbekistan after the final whistle.