Indian football team players vie for the ball with UAE players. Get highlights and analysis of the India vs UAE AFC Asian Cup 2019 match below (Pic: AIFF).
Khalfan Mubarak and Ali Mabkout scored as the UAE beat Indian football team 2-0 to climb to the top of Group A in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on January 10. Earlier, India, after starting on the front foot, missed a few chances and lost the initiative to the UAE in Abu Dhabi. UAE went into the break with a 0-1 lead thanks to the strike from Mubarak in the 41st minute. Mabkout then sealed victory for the home team in the 88th minute. (IND vs UAE match report/analysis)
India had four or five clear chances to score, Ashique Kuruniyan, Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan either missing or failing to beat the UAE 'keeper Khalid Eisa.
Also Read | AFC Asian Cup: Harsh Lessons in the Top Flight for Indian Football Team
Earlier in the day, Thailand beat Bahrain and the results have thrown the group wide open. All three teams now have a good chance to qualify to the knockouts at the moment. UAE now have four points, India and Thailand have three each, while Bahrain are pushed down to the bottom with one point from two matches.
Get highlights and analysis of the India vs UAE AFC Asian Cup 2019 match below.
Fasten your seatbelts folks. It is going to be an enthralling contest. If you thought the hosts UAE would have an easy night, then better think again. UAE are defending at the moment and Indians are showing signs of being happy moving forward. Good game on cards!
11’ Eisa saves!! Ashique is released by a brilliant through ball from Chhetri and he is one on one with the keeper. That is a crucial block by the UAE custodian.
13’ India are all over this game! India play a short corner, and Thapa crosses the ball in. Jhingan springs free (again) and gets a header wide!
14’ You know what fellows. Forget the draw. India could get this. Their relentless pressure and the high press is really unnerving the hosts, who can’t seem to take a touch on the ball without an Indian breathing down their neck. The anxious crowd isn’t helping.
Ashique had the right idea there. Both times. Khaled Eisa in the UAE goal has already shown signs of hero complex. He might end up doing something stupid in an attempt to look spectacular. Good plan to try to test him early and push that a bit.
Ashique seems to be on fire. After all, the might be feeling at home in the UAE. The striker hails from Malappuram in Kerala (a place known for its football players and fanatics as well as for its sizeable representation in the Indian work force in Middle East. We are sure there are many family members and friends of his in the crowd tonight.
21’ UAE have all the ball and are doing that err Spain thing, where they play intricately but without much purpose. Each time India win the ball, they break free and look like a chance can be created. The thing to consider though is how long can India keep this bus parking up before someone loses concentration.
22’ On the other hand, also to consider, how long can the UAE keep passing without purpose before committing a fatal mistake that lets Ashique through….
23’ And as we said it!!!! Thapa finds Chhetri with as tasty a cross as you can imagine. But what a save from Eisa. Ugh. That was point blank. And somehow still its 0-0.
Chhetri will know that was a massive chance to hit right at the keeper. Made sure Eisa didn't have too much to do. On the plus side I have to say again I am impressed with how this team is building play and thinking on the field. For Chhetri to even be on the end of that delicious ball means there is room and there will be chances.
26’ Erm. Eisa’s hero complex is serious. He gathers at the edge of the box. And edge means, if he was a boot size bigger the referee would have blown his whistle. The heroics are working for him for now.
27’ Again Chhetri releases Ashique, and that boy has speeeeeeeeeeed! But UAE’s Ismail Ahmed makes a last ditch slide clearance. They were a few yards from the box, but still… that was another superb release. That’s a corner.
28’ Nothing comes off the corner.
This is a mad game. UAE are holding all of the ball, but as soon as they approach the Indian box their heads go a bit school boy. India are holding up well and know that their best bits are through quick short, simple passes. They are harder to find, but when they come through, they look dangerous.
35’ The UAE have a corner. Five UAE shirts crowd the India box but the ball is cleared away by the first Indian to meet it.
Ishfaq Ahmed is watching today’s game at home in Srinagar. He’s been telling me for the past couple of days that the UAE will be nervous. At least at the start. Sure. Enough. “Brilliant. I’m loving this India squad,” he texts. Ishfaq will join Newsclick’s coverage of the #AsianCup2019 in the buildup to the game against Bahrain on Jan 14.
38’ For once India are caught out. From the left, Qutaif crosses one in and it catches Mabkhout’s head. Mabkhout though timed his jump a fraction too early and misses the header. The clearance lands at the top of the box and Salmeen lashes high on the volley.
The UAE players have slowly started settling down and asserting themselves. The last five minutes or so they have been moving up field.
41' UAE take lead. 1-0
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