India lose 0-2 to Thailand ahead of crucial Asian Cup Qualifier
PATHUM THANI (THAILAND): A lacklustre India lost 0-2 against Thailand in an international football friendly in a reality check ahead of their crucial Asian Cup qualifying round match on Wednesday.
Benjamin Davis and Poramet Arjvilai scored for Thailand in the 8th and 59th minute respectively as the home side dominated the match at the Thammasat Stadium.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
India had won the last two matches between the two sides before Wednesday's defeat but Thailand, ranked 99th in the world, were clearly the better side on the day.
India are currently ranked a lowly 127th.
The talismanic
Sunil Chhetri
, who had scored twice in India's 4-1 win against Thailand in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, nearly scored in the 24th minute but his glancing header was saved by a diving Thailand goalkeeper Saranon Anui.
India had also beaten Thailand 1-0 in the Kings Cup in 2019.
Thailand were technically bettered equipped and more clinical while India were left ruing missed opportunities and costly defensive lapses. The Indian midfield also lacked creativity.
Virat Kohli's love for 'dhaba' food, priority for family & more | RCB bus driver shares stories
This was the Indian team's second defeat in seven matches under head coach Manolo Marquez, the last one being 0-3 loss to Syria in the Intercontinental Cup last year in Hyderabad.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Promoções imperdíveis de voos baratos
Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa
Saiba Mais
Undo
Out of the five remaining matches under his charge, four were drawn games while the lone win came against Maldives (3-0) in March in an international friendly.
Thailand made their early dominance count. Phitiwat Sookjitthammakul found Korawich Tasa near the edge of the Indian box in the eighth minute. Tasa smartly laid it off for Ben Davis, who took a deft first touch to steady himself before unleashing a thunderous right-footed shot past Indian goalkeeper Vishal Kaith.
It was Davis' fourth goal in seven appearances for Thailand, and the Indian backline was left exposed, reacting too late to close him down.
India gradually grew into the game, using the width of the pitch to stretch the Thailand defence. Liston Colaco, operating fluently between midfield and the left flank, was a standout performer, linking up well with Sunil Chhetri and forward Ashique Kuruniyan.
India's first opportunity to level the score in the first half came in the 24th minute.
Colaco delivered a teasing free-kick from the left which Chhetri met with a clever header, timing his run perfectly to get ahead of his marker. However, Thailand goalkeeper Saranon Anuin dived to his left to pull off a sharp save.
Thailand continued to pose threat on the Indian citadel, with long-range efforts from Korawich Tasa and Arjvilai narrowly missing the target.
The momentum began to shift slightly in India's favour as the half wore on.
Abhishek came close with a driven shot from distance that missed the horizontal by inches in the 40th minute.
But the golden opportunity arrived in first-half stoppage time. Chhetri played a sublime through ball from midfield to find Colaco's run, splitting the Thai defence. Colaco brought the ball under control but couldn't finish the one-on-one chance as Anuin narrowed the angle to eventually thwart the danger with a timely save.
In the 59th minute, a miss pass in the midfield gifted Thailand ball possession. The ball was quickly fed to Arjvilai on the left flank. Spotting Vishal Kaith slightly off his line after sidestepping Ashish Rai, Arjvilai curled a magnificent effort into the top-right corner to double Thailand's lead and deflate Indian hopes.
Substitute Lallianzuala Chhangte got a fine chance in the 80th minute but his left footer went just wide of the upright.
The Changsuek, meanwhile, looked to exploit the spaces India left behind and could have added a third if not for a crucial intervention by Anwar Ali, who threw himself in front of a goal-bound shot in the dying moments.
The match was part of preparation for India's crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifying round match against Hong Kong on June 10 in Kowloon.
The same was also the case for Thailand as they face Turkmenistan in their AFC Asian Cup final round qualifier.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
29 minutes ago
- NDTV
Murali Sreeshankar Wins Long Jump Title In Kazakhstan
Star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar clinched his third straight title after coming back from a long injury lay-off as he won the event at the Qosanov Memorial Athletics Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Saturday. The 26-year-old Indian produced a winning leap of 7.94m on his opening attempt to secure the top spot at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze label (category C) meet. His other efforts were 7.73m, 7.58m, 7.57m, 7.80m and 7.79m. He has a personal best of 8.41m. This was Sreeshankar's third competition since returning from a knee injury, which he suffered in April last year. He had undergone surgery and consequently missed the 2024 Olympics despite qualifying for the global showpiece in the French capital. Sreeshankar won the Indian Open in Pune with a jump of 8.05m jump in his first comeback competition and followed it up with a 7.75m effort to top the podium at the Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto in Portugal. Before injury, Sreeshankar's last international appearance was a silver-medal finish at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in 2023. He is yet to qualify for the Tokyo World Championships in September, for which the men's long jump qualification standard is 8.27m.
NDTV
29 minutes ago
- NDTV
5th Test, Day 3: Mohammed Siraj Strikes At Stroke Of Stumps, England 1 Down In Chase Of 374 vs India
Yashasvi Jaiswal enhanced his reputation as an all-conditions opener with a gutsy hundred on a tough pitch before Washington Sundar's whirlwind fifty allowed India to set a record 374-run target for England on an absorbing day three of the final Test at The Oval, London on Saturday. Jaiswal (118 off 164) rode his luck to complete his sixth Test hundred while the other significant contributions came from nightwatchman Akash Deep (66 off 94), Washington (53 off 46) and Ravindra Jadeja (53 off 77), who has been phenomenally consistent with the bat this series. The highest successful chase is 263 at The Oval but with the way England approach their game, one would not bet against the hosts just yet, having made short work of a 378 run target against India at Edgbaston three years ago and more recently the 371 they gunned down in the series opener at Leeds. At stumps, England were 50 for one loss in 13.5 overs with Mohammed Siraj castling Zak Crawley with a yorker at the stroke of stumps. The pitch did not look as green as it did on the first two days but still had enough for the fast bowlers. Akash Deep got a couple of balls to jump off length in the last hour of play. India were all out for 396 in the second innings courtesy the fireworks from Washginton Sundar displayed exemplary six hitting skills against Gus Atkinson and Josh tongue. Having a scored his maiden Test hundred last week, Washington looked supremely confident as he put the opposition pacers to sword to swell India's lead. He reached his half-century by disdainfully Atkinson into the cow corner region. In the afternoon session, a gritty century from Jaiswal helped India extend their lead to 281 runs at tea. India lost three wickets in the session but more importantly reached 304 for six at the break. England continued to drop catches, taking their innings tally to six. Jaiswal (118 off 164), who was dropped twice on Friday, was given another life on day three. Fair to say, he made the most of the lifelines offered to him for his second hundred of the series. Shubman Gill (11 off 9) produced two sublime fours before falling to the incoming ball once again with Gus Atkinson removing the Indian captain first ball after lunch. With that, Gill ended the series with a staggering 754 runs, just 20 shy of Sunil Gavaskar's all time record by an Indian. Jaiswal, who got rich rewards for playing the cut shot, was eventually caught in third man region. Karun Nair was caught behind off Atkinson with the extra bounce surprising him. Earlier, nightwatchman Akash Deep smashed his way to a maiden half-century, frustrating a lacklustre England and putting India in a strong position at lunch. Resuming the day at 75 for two, India did exceedingly well to reach 189 for three at the break with Jaiswal and Akash Deep sharing a 107-run stand off 150 balls. The India pacer, who was on four overnight, was eventually dismissed by Jamie Overton towards the end of the session via a short ball he could not control, giving an easy catch to Gus Atkinson at point. A bowler short, England could not control the run flow against Akash Deep who slashed his bat plenty of times in the session and got away with it. A fourth catch of the innings was dropped when Zak Crawley dropped a regulation catch of Akash Deep at third slip off Josh Tongue. The surface also played a lot better than the first two days with the ball not seaming around that much. There plenty of edges down the third man region but did not result in wickets. Akash Deep, who had just one first class fifty to his name prior to this game, made his intentions clear in the first over of the day bowled by left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell. The Indian cleared his leg and dispatched Bethell over mid-wicket for a boundary. Akash Deep did not hold against the fast bowlers as well, especially Atkinson. He got to his fifty with another slog off Atkinson. He was understandably fired up with his stellar effort that was duly applauded by the Indian dressing room. Jaiswal, at the other end, was happy to let Akash Deep go for his shots. However, he did play a ramp off Overton that went for a boundary.
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
Yashasvi Jaiswal press conference: Message from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli help, support from Gambhir
'Arrest Mohan Bhagwat': Ex-ATS Officer Drops Bombshell On Fake Saffron Terror Plot | Malegaon Blast In a staggering twist, a retired ATS officer has shaken the political landscape by claiming he was instructed to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during the 2008 Malegaon blast probe. Speaking after the acquittal of all accused, including BJP MP Pragya Thakur, ex-Inspector Mehiboob Mujawar alleged that the saffron terror narrative was a fabrication, driven by political pressure. He described the directives as "horrific" and claims he refused to follow them, leading to his career's destruction via a false case. His allegations bring the focus sharply back to the credibility of terror investigations under UPA, and raise serious questions about the weaponisation of law enforcement. Opposition parties are now demanding answers, warning that faith in national security agencies is at risk. With claims of planted evidence, suppressed truths, and institutional vendetta, this case has reignited the saffron vs secular firestorm in Indian politics, and it's far from over.#malegaonblastcase, #mohanbhagwat, #mehiboobmujawar, #rsschiefcontroversy, #saffronterordebate, #pragyasinghthakur, #ltcolpurohit, #niacourtverdict, #faketerrorcharges, #atsinvestigation, #maharashtraats, #politicalvendetta, #antirssnarrative, #bjpvscongress, #indianjudiciary, #falseterrorcases, #nationalinvestigationagency, #indianpolitics, #judicialacquittal, #malegaoncaseacquittal, #hindutvanarrative, #2008malegaonblast #breakingnews #trending #bharat #toi #toibharat #indianews 2.8K views | 1 day ago
