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Football: Uruguay strike freely after lightning break, beat India 6-1
The hosts had rallied to 1-1 at the weather break, but the visitors took over on resumption at the Salt Lake stadium
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Kolkata: India flickered but faded away after a 30-minute stoppage due to lightning. Uruguay scored inside a minute after resumption and ran away with the tie, netting four in the second half.
Against a team 118 places above India in the FIFA rankings the 6-1 result was not unexpected, the numbers at half-time were. India had 31% of the ball but had three shots on target, the same as Uruguay. They had seven attempts on goal to Uruguay’s 10. Anirudh Thapa’s 22nd minute goal had rattled Uruguay leading to errors creeping into their game. It turned out to be a wake-up call.
“For us, even friendlies are like World Cup games,” Rodrigo Zalazar had said. The Uruguay midfielder walked the talk with a smart finish after Darwin Nunez cushioned a raking ball from the right with a header in the 53rd minute.
It meant goals on either side of half-time – Maximiliano Araujo had made it 2-1 in the 28th minute – had opened the gap between the teams. Araujo made it 4-1 in the 59th before Uruguay showed their class with a slick breakaway move that ended with Juan Manuel Sanabria bundling the ball into the net in the 71st minute. A brilliant shot from Rodrigo Aguirre made it half-a-dozen in the 86th.
“You could say we were lucky with the break,” Uruguay head coach Diego Forlan told the official broadcasters after what turned out to be a lesson in possession, passing and finishing for India. The Asian tour that had begun with a 1-3 defeat to Japan saw Uruguay score 10 in the next two games, including four against South Korea. “No friendly is easy so we need to enjoy this,” he said.
Till the break due to inclement weather, India had matched Uruguay. Almost. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu again let in a goal at the near post but had got big to deny Nunez in the 37th minute after the former Liverpool player, on loan at Al-Diriyah in the Saudi Pro League, had beaten India’s defensive high line.
But by then India had scored and Edmund Lalrindika had come close. India had absorbed early pressure through Anwar Ali and Pramveer Singh, the 19-year-old central defender who had been given a start by head coach Khalid Jamil in place of Bijoy Varghese. It was Thapa who had helped India take the game to the other side, stealing possession, controlling the ball and finding Manvir Singh. India forced an error in the Uruguay backline and Forlan was seen standing with finger on lips.
Pramveer’s foul on Federico Vinas led to the penalty – the first in this set of three home games against teams from the 2026 World Cup – that put Uruguay in front in the 12th minute, but the young defender showed why he is rated highly. A crucial block just before the water break had Anwar Ali, his senior partner in defence, congratulating Pramveer.
Uruguay hit the framework through Joaquin Moreira but Abhishek Singh Tekcham and Lalrindika had threatened Uruguay’s goal. Then, in the 22nd minute, Thapa equalised. Ryan Williams beat Emiliano Martinez, chewed up space and blasted a shot which ricocheted off Thiago Cardozo in goal. Thapa broke free and slotted home with a smart left-footer. “We should have held on to that,” said Jamil. They couldn’t because Uruguay were simply too superior.
On Tuesday, Thapa was the best player for India, setting up moves and dropping to help the defence. He had looked assured against Brazil as well, the highlight possibly being an overhead clearance to deny Vinicius Jr. Consistency is an issue with Indian players but if Thapa can hold on to this form, it will be good news for Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the new ISL season beginning on Saturday. And for India who go to New Zealand next month.
