Doha: Uzbekistan registered a resounding 3-0 victory over India to strengthen their chances of advancing at the AFC Asian Cup, scoring all their goals in the first half.
The victory for Srecko Katanec’s side elevated them to second place in Group B with four points as 2015 champions Australia confirmed their Round of 16 berth after a 1-0 win over Syria earlier yesterday.
India battled hard in patches but they were far behind in quality against a fancied Uzbekistan side that produced a clinical performance in front of over 38000 spectators at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
Despite entering the game as the underdogs against higher-ranked opponents, India once again received a massive support at the venue with fans cheering every moment as they poured their bodies forward particularly when star Sunil Chhetri was in action upfront.
Clumsy individual mistakes in the defence and lack of finishing touch cost the side, which will now hope to win their last Group B match against Syria after their second straight defeat following a 2-0 loss to Australia.
Uzbekistan gave Igor Stimac’s side an early shock when Abbosbek Fayzullayev’s header in the fourth minute opened the scoring before goals from Igor Sergeyeev and Sherzod Nasrullayev before half-time took the match away from the South Asians.
Fayzullayev headed home past goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh from left side of the six-yard box after receiving a looping header from Otabek Shukurov.
Uzbekistan continued to find spaces with excellent movement in the final third, and were rewarded in the 18th minute when Sergeyev smashed the ball into the net off a rebound after Akash Mishra’s clearance from Fayzullayev’s attempt hit the left post.
Aiming to bounce back, India started pressing for a goal and Chhetri created an opportunity but Mishra missed the target with a header from the centre of the box.
Goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov denied India with a superb save from Mahesh Naorem’s ambitious strike from outside the box before Chhetri’s header from Anirudh Thapa’s cross missed the target.
Just before half-time, Nasrullayev further dented India’s hopes scoring off a rebound after his first strike hit the post in fourth minute of injury time.
India came close to scoring three minutes after the break but Rahul KP’s strike hit the bar before Chhetri failed to slot after the ball bounced back to him.
Yusupov once again made a fine save as he tipped away a shot by Rahul Beke from a distance in the 72nd minute to keep clean sheet in the tournament.
India will now enter the Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday desperate for three points against Syria to keep their chances of progressing as one of the four best third-placed finishers. The same day Uzbekistan and Australia will square off in a battle to win group.
