The Indian soccer team made a good comeback in the second half to hold the imagined Oman 1-1 in their first international match in more than a year, although the Gulf side dominated the friendly here on Thursday.
India conceded a goal in the 42nd minute with a Chinglensana Singh punt that crossed the goal line after hitting goalkeeper Amrinder Singh who started the match in place of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Manvir Singh scored the equalizer in the 55th minute to help India achieve a rare draw against Oman in the first international outing after the COVID-19 lockdown.
India’s head coach Igor Stimac debuted up to 10 players. He had said before the game that he would give the maximum number of players opportunities to gain the experience of playing in big games.
The first half had to do with Oman attacking in waves with India without a single shot on goal.
Oman, which won both the 2022 World Cup qualifying home and away matches against India, played a high defensive line with more men attacking. India was content to defend its citadel with more players in its own half and only one man at the helm most of the time.
The Indians lost possession too easily on most occasions as Oman did not allow them to hold the ball for long.
Oman blew a penalty in the 27th minute after Rowlin Borges fouled Abdul Aziz Al Gheilani inside the box. Aziz himself took the penalty, but shot straight at Amarinder Singh.
But Oman could not be denied a goal in the first half. Al Aghbari hit the ball down the left wing and sent a low cross into the goal. Amrinder was unable to pick up the ball cleanly and hit Chinglensana Singh and passed the goal line.
Stimac made two changes early in the second session with Lalengmawia and Raynier Fernandes replacing Jeakson Singh and Rowllin Borges.
The Indians put on a much better show in the second half, holding the ball much longer than the first 45 minutes and playing a more offensive game.
India tied five minutes before the hour mark. Bipin Singh sent a delicious cross from the right wing that was finished off by Manvir.
Oman, which was ranked 81st to India’s 104th on the FIFA charts, then pushed hard for the winning goal, but Amrinder was impressive behind the bar by making two good saves in the 63rd minute. and 65.
India plays its second international friendly against the United Arab Emirates here on Monday. The friendlies are part of the preparations for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asia Cup joint qualifying round matches to be played in June.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.