AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Dheeraj Singh fires India to the second spot and keeps qualification hopes alive

India U-23 were held to a 0-0 draw at the final whistle by Kyrgyzstan U-23 in their last Group E fixture of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Fujairah Stadium in UAE. But since both the teams were tied on all parameters tiebreakers followed where Dheeraj Singh made two crucial saves to guarantee the second spot in the group for India. Rahul KP, Rohit Danu, Suresh Singh and Rahim Ali scored from the spot to post a favourable score of 4-2 after the shootout. 

Coach Igor Stimac made a single change to the starting XI that went down 1-0 in their previous match to UAE as Amarjit Singh replaced Jeakson Singh. It was a positive start for India as most of the possession was being enjoyed by them.

Within the first five minutes, Lalengmawia even tried his luck from distance after he got a sight of goal following a lengthy exchange of passes, but his attempt sailed wide. Rahul KP joined the action soon and used his pace and guile to beat his marker but his final ball was dealt at the expense of a corner. 

India kept knocking at goal with Rahim Ali and Vikram Pratap combining with a fancy one-two outside the box, but the latter’s shot was blocked in its tracks. However, Kyrgyzstan slowly started to grow in the match and clawed their way back pushing India’s back to the wall.

Maskat had a clear chance to score but his header went wide as Asish Rai kept ball watching. At the half-hour mark Borubaev was through on goal but keeper Dheeraj Singh denied him by coming out of his line. 

In the second half, Kyrgyzstan came out with a plan and started dominating proceedings. Ali Gulov could have scored from his header, had he kept it on target. Meanwhile, around the hour-mark, India had a penalty shout turned down even as it seemed that the ball struck the hand of an opposition defender. 

Just a minute later, Dheeraj once again brought out his best to deny Tapaev’s close-range attempt. Stimac decided to shake things up in the middle and brought on attacking midfielder Rohit Danu to stage a fightback. The move worked for the Blue Tigers as India started creating more chances after his introduction. 

In the 68th minute, Deepak Tangri’s acrobatic scissor-kick was saved by the keeper. Five minutes later, Rahul rifled a shot but it struck the woodwork and came out. But Kyrgyzstan was not ready to throw in the towel and Arlen tested Dheeraj with a venomous shot which was once again kept out by the FC Goa keeper. 

Although India are on the second spot in the table, their chances of qualification are very slim. Only the four-best second-placed team from 10 groups will go through and India are currently in the ninth spot.