After falling to Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the Round of 16 of the Asian Games, the Indian men's football team was eliminated. India made their first R16 appearance in ten years with this match.
Shortly
- At the Asian Games, India fell to Saudi Arabia 2-0.
- This loss at the Asian Games marked the end of India's football season.
- The game's events were dominated by Saudi Arabia.
After losing 2-0 to Saudi Arabia on September 28th, India under Sunil Chhetri was eliminated from the Asian Games. India failed to contend with the Saudi team's technical supremacy in the second half of the game in their first Round of 16 appearance in ten years.
Mohammed Maran, a colleague of Cristiano Ronaldo's at Al Nassr, scored two goals against India to help Saudi Arabia keep up their impressive tournament performance.
In the first half of the game, India's defensive positioning with two blocks of four was successful. However, India struggled to execute counterattacks effectively due to a weak defensive block, with Sunil Chhetri and Gurkirat Singh being squeezed out by the Saudi defenders.
In the first half of the game, India displayed strong defensive fortitude, forcing the Saudi team to take shots from outside the box. A mid-range attempt from Saudi Arabia that struck the Indian team's crossbar in the first half came close to giving them a goal as well.
For India, the second half of the game was the worst it could have been. In the 51st minute, Maran scored his first goal on a free header while going unopposed. In the 58th minute of the game, Saudi scored their second goal, which was quite impressive considering how frequently they attacked and shown their technical superiority.
Sunil Chhetri, the captain of India, was replaced in the 78th minute of play because he was unable to provide a goal today.