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FIFA U-17 World Cup: Colombia beat India 2-1 in a thriller; Boys In Blue go down fighting

India's hopes of making it to FIFA U-17 quarters were all but over after the Boys In Blue went down fighting against a dominant Colombia.

FIFA U-17 World Cup: Colombia beat India 2-1 in a thriller; Boys In Blue go down fighting

New Delhi, Oct 9: India's hopes of making it to the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA Under-17 World Cup were all but over after the Boys In Blue went down fighting against a dominant Colombia in their second group stage game.

Colombia's striker Juan Penaloza hit two goals to ensure the South American side take 3 points and increase their chances of entering the quarterfinals.

Boys In Blue went down fighting as they scored their maiden goal in FIFA World Cup in the 82nd minute but conceded the second goal immediately after to end up on the losing side at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday (October 9).

Match Centre

Rahul Kannoly, who was beautifully assisted by Boris Thangjam, tried to hit the left post with a left footed shot from the centre of the box in the 45th minute. But he was unlucky as the ball returned from the cross-bar and India remained goalless.

India had their first chance to score when their forward Abhijit Sarkar failed to clear the goalie and hit the first goal in the first quarter of the match. He was beautifully assisted by Boris Thangjam.

Indian attackers failed to maintain the passes and kept losing possessions at regular intervals which proved costly for the Indians.

However, the scoreline could have been different for a dominant Colombian side as they kept penetrating into the Indian box but it was Indian goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh who was once again at his impressive best and denied the opposition any goals.

Colombian strikers Deyman Cortes and Jaminton Campaz made constant attempts to keep the ball in the Indian half along with their midfielders Leandro Campaz and Andres Cifuentes.

The visitors attacked from the very first minute of the second-half and success came across their way when Juan Penaloza put Colombia in front in the 48th minute and took 1-0 lead. Dheeraj Singh, who was the stand-out performer in the first half-couldn't to much as the ball penetrated the side net.

Jeakson Thounaojam's header hit the equaliser for India with header from the centre of the box to the top right corner. He was assisted by Sanjeev Stalin with a cross following a corner in the 82nd minute.

At the end of the extra time, the scoreline read 2-1 and India are all but out of the tournament. They now face another strong side Ghana in their final league match on October 12 at the same venue.

The Blues looked much better side and undid the wrongs they committed against the formidable USA in their debut game on Friday. Coach Luis Norton de Matos' boys played attacking game from the very beginning after he decided to go with the playing formation of 4-2-3-1 against Colombia.

The coach didn't pick the key players Komal Thatal and Aniket Jadhav initially. Aniket entered as a substitution in the 65th minute of the game while Thatal's services weren't taken in the second-half as well against a physically strong Colombian side.

Star of the match were Penaloza and Indian goalkeeper Dheeraj Moirangthem, who impressed all through the match. Dheeraj was at his level best right from the start and denied the Colombian attackers any success till 49 minutes.

The Blues started their World Cup campaign with a 3-0 loss against the mighty USA but they looked a better side against even stronger Colombian side.

Story first published: Monday, October 9, 2017, 22:27 [IST]
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