King’s Cup 2023 football: India lose to Iraq in penalties

The Indian men’s football team lost 5-4 on penalties to Iraq in the semi-finals of the King’s Cup 2023 football tournament at the 700th Anniversary Stadium, Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Thursday.

After the scores were level at 2-2 after regulation time, the match came down to penalties as there is provision for no extra time in the tournament. Brandon Fernandes missed a spot kick as India slumped to their seventh loss in eight meetings vs Iraq. 

In regulation time, Naorem Mahesh (17’) scored the opening goal for India while the other was accounted for through Jalal Hassan Hachim’s own goal (51’). Ali Al-Hamadi (28’) and Aymen Hussein (80’) were on target for Iraq. 

The Indian men’s football team, ranked 99th in the world, came into the tournament without the talismanic Sunil Chhetri, who opted out of the squad due to personal reasons.

Playing in their traditional blue jersey, the Indian men’s football team initially defended deep and looked to counter-attack. Iraq meanwhile, were on the offensive from the start.

The Iraqi team, the highest-ranked team in the tournament at world No. 70, launched attacks in waves but the Indian defence, led by veteran centre-back Sandesh Jinghan, stayed resolute.

A quarter into the first half, the Indian team took the lead against the run of play. India’s Sahal Abdul Samad made the most of the empty space behind the opposition defence and played a through ball to Naorem Mahesh, who slotted it past the Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan Hachem to give India a 1-0 lead.       

Stung by the goal, Iraq pressed more men forward in search of the equaliser. Ten minutes after conceding the opening goal, Iraq were back on level terms via a penalty. The referee pointed to the penalty spot after Sandesh Jinghan was shown the yellow card for a handball in the box. Ali Al-Hamadi made it 1-1. 

The first half did not see any more goals as both teams went into half-time with the scores level at 1-1.

After the break, India showed much more intensity going forward. Five minutes into the second half, India were back in front after Iraqi custodian Jalal Hassan Hachem made a mess of a shot from India’s Manvir Singh and conceded an own goal.

As the match progressed, the Iraqi team began to dominate possession and took the attack to the Indians. Ten minutes from the final whistle, Iraq drew parity from the penalty spot after Aymen Hussein was fouled in the box by the Indian defenders. Aymen Hussein hit the penalty to the right of the diving Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to make it 2-2.

Iraq peppered the Indian half with long balls in an attempt to score the winner but the Indian defence stood firm. Iraq came under pressure in the dying moments of the game after Zidane Iqbal was shown a red card. India, though, failed to make their numerical advantage count as the match headed into the dreaded penalty shootouts.  

In the tie-breaker, Brandon Fernnandes hit the post.        

The Indian men’s football team will next play the second losing semi-finalists from the match between hosts Thailand and Lebanon in the third-place match on Sunday.

India won a bronze medal when they last played in the King’s Cup in 2019. The Men in Blue beat Thailand 1-0 to finish third after losing to Curacao in the semi-finals.