Indian football team lost to Tajikistan, lost in third consecutive international friendly match

New Delhi.The Indian men’s football team suffered a 1-3 defeat against Tajikistan in an international friendly match played at the Talco Arena in Tursunzoda on Friday night. With this defeat, India lost its third consecutive international friendly match.

Tajikistan played aggressively from the beginning of the match and in the ninth minute Shariddin Bobaev gave his team the lead by converting a penalty. The Indian team could not succeed in penetrating Tajikistan’s organized defense in the first half and was trailing 0-1 till half-time.

India tried to perform better in the second half, but Tajikistan tightened their grip on the game. In the 61st minute, Mekhrubon Karimov doubled the lead by scoring a goal. Six minutes later, Ehsan Panjshanbe scored the third goal and made the score 3-0.

Farrukh Chaudhary reduced the gap for India by scoring a brilliant goal in the 88th minute of the match, but by then it was too late and the team could not avoid defeat.

Before this match, the Indian team had also suffered two defeats in the Unity Cup held in London, where it had lost 0-2 to Jamaica and 0-1 to Zimbabwe.

This match was part of India’s preparations for the upcoming continental competitions. Head coach Khalid Jamil used this match to test the team combination and give the players experience against strong opposition. India will now play the second international friendly against Tajikistan on June 9.