AFC Asian Cup 2019: India lose 0-1 to Bahrain in stoppage time; crash out

After fighting valiantly through the course of the match, India lost 0-1 to Bahrain in their final group game of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in Sharjah to crash out of the tournament

India lost 0-1 to Bahrain in their final group game of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in Sharjah to crash out of the tournament.

The Blue Tigers defended valiantly until the final stages of the match but conceded a stoppage time penalty that Jamal Rashed slammed through the middle past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to help Bahrain through to the round of 16 at the expense of India

Stephen Constantine’s charges could have qualified with a draw and they put most of their efforts in keeping Bahrain at bay before calamity struck in the dying stages of the game.

The United Arab Emirates and Thailand played out a 1-1 draw in their game to ensure direct progress, while India’s defeat was enough to propel Bahrain into the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Despite their early exit, India will take a lot from their performances in the UAE. They started the tournament in a great fashion by thumping Thailand 4-1 before losing 0-2 to UAE. The win over Thailand was India’s first in 55 years in the continental competition.

There was personal milestone for Sunil Chhetri as well as his brace against Thailand took his tally to 67, one more than Lionel Messi, and second in the list of top international goalscorers among the still-active players.

The round of 16 matches at the AFC Asian Cup will begin 20 January.