Daijiworld Media Network – Tehran
Tehran, Sep 3: India put up a resilient display against higher-ranked Iran but eventually went down 0–3 in their international friendly on Tuesday.
The Blue Tigers had their first real chance in the 24th minute when Suresh Singh Wangjam’s cross was trapped inside the box by Irfan Yadwad, who laid it off for Nikhil Prabhu. However, the midfielder’s shot was blocked. India looked confident as they created passages of play down the right through Vikram Partap Singh, but Iran dealt with the danger.
Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was called into action, denying a snapshot from Noorafkan, as India’s defence stood firm to frustrate Iran in the first half.
The deadlock was broken in the 60th minute. Hossein Kanaani’s cross found Hosseinzadeh, whose header was initially blocked by Rahul Bheke. But the ball fell kindly for Hosseinzadeh to score from close range.
Head coach Khalid Jamil brought on Manvir Singh (Jr), Mahesh Naorem, and Jithin MS to push for an equaliser. A promising cross from Manvir found Bheke, but the defender’s header went wide. Substitutes Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Taremi tilted the game further in Iran’s favour.
Iran doubled their lead late on when Alipour pounced on a rebound after Taremi hit the upright. Deep in injury time, Jahanbakhsh set up Taremi, who sealed the 3–0 win for the world number 20s.
India had one last attempt through substitute Jeakson Singh, whose long-range effort went narrowly over. Despite the defeat, India’s organised first-half defending and promising attacking changes were positives for coach Jamil.
Final Score: Iran 3 – 0 India