The result, however, made no difference as both teams had already sealed their places in Sunday’s final of the four-nation tournament.
Bhubaneswar: India missed the chances that came their way to settle for a goalless draw with Lebanon in the Intercontinental Cup football tournament here on Thursday, June 15, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
The result, however, made no difference as both teams had already sealed their places in Sunday’s final of the four-nation tournament.
Head coach Igor Stimac benched a number of seniors including striker Sunil Chhetri and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Defensive linchpin Sandesh Jhingan wore the captain’s armband in Chhetri’s absence.
Introduced in the 82nd minute, Chhetri received a perfect delivery from Anirudh Thapa but the India captain could not find the back of the net. It would have been 1-0 within the first five minutes of the game but Anirudh Thapa missed a sitter. About 20 minutes into the match, another chance was wasted as Ashique Kuruniyan hit the ball straight to the Lebanese goalkeeper.
“Another clean sheet, enough chances to win big, and in the end, I’m just sorry for the boys, it didn’t happen. Next time, we will surely win in three days’ time,” Stimac said.
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