The width of a post denied India a place in the King’s Cup final as they went down on penalties to Iraq in the semifinal after a valiant fight in hot and humid Chiang Mai. A penalty decision that could best be described as generous had helped Iraq gain parity late in the game, and with no extra time there in the playing conditions, the game went straight to penalty kicks. Brandon Fernandes struck the first one beautifully, but against the inside of the post. Nine times out of ten, it would have gone in. On this occasion, it deflected in the direction of the corner flag. Iraq made no mistake with any of theirs, and though india were also faultless thereafter, that was that.
The game had started well for India, though they were largely penned into their own half for the first quarter of an hour. Sandesh Jhingan had an opportunity early on as a free kick was floated towards him, but it was by sitting deep and hitting on the counter that India took the lead in the 17th minute. Sahal Abdul Samad moved forward with the ball, and timed his pass perfectly as Noarem Mahesh ghosted in from the left. The finish at the near post was brilliant, and the side ranked 70th in the world and seventh in Asia suddenly looked rattled.
But India couldn’t hold on to the lead. A shot from Bashar Resan in the 28th minute struck Jhingan on the arm, and the referee had little hesitation in pointing to the spot. Ali Karim dispatched it without fuss, and Iraq were level. They then proceeded to boss possession though there were few clear-cut chances as India pressed hard and defended deep.
One of Iraq’s half-time substitutes was Zidane Iqbal, once of Manchester United and now playing with Utrecht in the Netherlands. But against the run of play, it was India that went ahead in the 51st minute. Sahal released Manvir Singh, who found Akash Mishra on the overlap. The left-back’s cross from the right wing was bundled into his own net by an embarrassed Jalal Hassan.
Thereafter, India defended for their lives, with nine or ten players camped in their own half. They rarely strung even half a dozen passes together, as fatigue and lack of preparation time started to show. And they so nearly pulled it off. But in the 79th minute, a searching cross from the right flank found Aymen Hussein, who plays for Raja Casablanca in Morocco, tussling for the ball with Jhingan and Nikhil Poojary. Jhingan had his back to the striker and eyes on the ball, but was still ruled to have brought him down. Hussein dusted himself off and scored, even as Igor Stimac, the India coach who has often complained about the standard of officiating, looked on in disgust.
Both teams had half-chances to win it. But in the end, it went to penalties, and the narrowest of margins, a coat of varnish on an upright. This time, there was no show of temper from Stimac. Instead, he went towards Jesus Casas, the Iraq coach and gave him a big hug. Three decades ago, when Stimac was one of the overseas stars at Cadiz in Spain, Casas had been a B team player. All these years later, they were guiding two national teams who have had very contrasting modern histories. Iraq were Asian champions in 2007, around the time when Indian football was a joke. The very fact that this game was so close tells you just how much Stimac and this group of players have turned things around.