India 0-1 Syria: Omar Khirbin lone goal knock Blue Tigers out of AFC Asian Cup 2023

A 76-minute goal from Omar Khirbin puts an end to the Indian Football Team’s Asian Dream. The Blue Tigers finish at the bottom of their group following three consecutive losses at the hands of Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria. Although Blue Tigers started on a high against the Quasioun Eagles, a goal from Khirbin and a lack of finishing in the final third made India crash out of the tournament. Syria are currently the best-ranked third-place team with four points and now face a nervy wait to see if they have secured qualification.

Our #AsianCup2023 campaign comes to an end.#SYRvIND ⚔️ #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/UBuX0Ty74h
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) January 23, 2024

Match Timeline:

FULL TIME: It is full time at Al Bayt Stadium and Blue Tigers crash out of AFC Asian Cup with a loss against Syria. Omar Khirbin scored the only goal, as Sunil Chhetri and co end their campaign at the bottom of the group without a win,

94′ India are still looking for a last-ditch attempt to through Syria off the mark, but Syrian defence are hardly allowing so.

90′- Seven additional minutes have been added on in the game. Khirbin goes close but Rahul Bheke averts the danger away.

85‘ Syria will have to wait till the day after to find their fate, however, being at third position with four points chance look pretty strong for Quasioun Eagles,

80′- India continue to try to find the net despite being a goal down. The coaches are bring in fresh legs to the game to keep the intensity going.

76′ Goallllll! Omar Khirbin Scores, India 0-1 Syria! The Blue Tigers look in dismay as their hopes of making it to the knockout suffer a major setback.

71′– Sahal Abdul Samad makes a run off a counter-attack, as Chhangte gallops alongside but is cleared away before by Syria’s defence.

68′- India survive a scare as Ramadan misses by a whisker. Nikhil Poojary draws in close by but Gupreet goes down as pressure builds on

66′ Sunil Chhetri finds Sahal Abdul Samad who attempts for a shot from the edge of the penalty area but is cleared. Suresh on the other hand goes down.

64′ Suresh Singh Wangjam and Sahal Abdul Samad come on for Manvir and Deepak Tangri. Khirbin has been relentless in attack as India look to withstand the constant pressure from Syria.

60′ – We are in the final thirty minutes of the game as India look to bring in fresh legs to uplift the game.

57′- India are awarded freekick. Apuia takes it and finds Manvir who fails to keep it on target. India look desperate for a goal as time goes running.

53′ A chance goes begging for India, Madanieh almost gives India a great chance. The Syrian custodian emerges to intercept a cross that has crossed into the area, but Chhangte races onto the ball and leaves him in the open. Lallianzuala Chhangte is brought down Oues. Igor Stimac gets a yellow for arguing

52′– Pablo Sabbag is off for Syria, with Omar Khrbin replacing him.

48′- A highly strung clash breaks out right away as both teams look for a breakthrough. A win is a must for both teams to survive in the competition.

46′ We are back in the second half, Nikhil Poojary replaces Jhingan.

HALF TIME: Blue Tigers play out a goalless first half as they continue to look for a win. However, a chance goes begging for Sunil Chhetri in the final minutes of the half. But India need to record a win if they want to keep their hopes alive in the AFC Asian Cup

47′ Deepak Tangri makes a crucial block as the score remain tied, Sandesh Jhingan makes a crucial clearance as it goes out for a Syria corner,

45′ Five additional minutes have been added and Sandesh Jhingan goes down. He gets up on his own despite the discomfort!

42′- Syria looking more dangerous as they continue to pile on attacks on Indian Defence to find the breakthrough ahead of the break time. Pablo Sabbag and Ramadan have brought in all sorts of problems for India along with Hesar.

38′- Gurpreet Singh Sandhu amped to up for the Blue Tigers, the custodian makes a string of saves as India’s defence starts to falter against the Syrian defence. Sandhu makes two back-to-back saves to keep the Blue Tigers in the game.

34′ Mahesh Singh Naorem delivers a perfect cross into the box, but the players fail to connect with it and Syria’s defence parry it away. Akash Mishra is seen limping on the field.

32‘ We are in the final quarter of the first half, but the teams have maintained their intensity in the game as they aim for a breakthrough in the game ahead of the break.

28′ Deepak Tangri brings down Ramadan in the penalty area it goes for a VAR check. However, no spot-kick is awarded.

27′- Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes a great save but the danger is not gone for the Blue Tigers.

25′- Oues is gets a yellow for his reaction against Mahes Singh Naorem who brings down the defender, However, Syria is given a free kick.

24′- Another chance goes begging for India. Captain Sunil Chhetri fails to keep the header on target.

23′- Syrians are awarded a freekick for Bheke’s foul on Ramadan, nothing comes out of it as India break into a counter-attack

21′ A Chance for India as Apuia aims for a long shot to make up for his error earlier but fails to make it count. Bheke makes a cross from the right but it is easily intercepted,

18′ Apuia loses the ball as Syria take advantage of the mistake and pounce upon it. However, Gurpreet makes a fine save to keep the Blue Tigers in the game. Hesar takes advantage of the dispossession and takes the first shot, while Alam fails to put in the rebound.

17′ India survive a scare and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu comes out of his line to save an effort by Sabbag as Alam finds the former upfront with a clever pass

15′- Manvir Singh makes quite a run on the left flank, however he is dispossessed by the Syrian defence as the flag goes up. The crowd however has been fired up.

12′- A chance for Syria, is carefully cleared away by Apuia as Mahesh Singh Naorem gets into a counterattack

9′ – An overlap from Akash Mishra ends up in nothing as Syria clear the ball out before any threat

7′- Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes a fine save off Syria’s attack, a spectacular header from Sabbag as Blue Tigers heave a sigh of relief.

5′- A chance for Igor Stimac’s side. Mahesh makes a great run off a counterattack from Syria and passes it to Manvir but the custodian comes to the rescue.

3′ – An intense beginning from the Blue Tigers, Sunil Chhetri finds Manvir Singh who feeds it off to Mahesh Singh Naorem but the Syria goalkeeper keeps it away

2′ – A foul on Apuia results in a freekick for India

1′- India starts with intensity as Lallianzuala Chhangte tries to fire up an attack. But, Rahul Bheke gets a yellow early in the match with a foul on Hesar.

0′ We are underway as the Indian Football Team eye a crucial win against Syria that would keep them alive in the AFC Asian Cup. Captain Sunil Chhetri starts in a new role as number 10.

India vs Syria Starting Line-up

India Starting XI

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK); Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhashish Bose, Akash Mishra; Deepak Tangri Anirudh Thapa, Apuia, Sunil Chhetri, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh

Syria Predicted XI

Ibrahim Alma (C) (GK); Abdul Rahman Weiss, Aiham Ousou, Thaer Krouma, Moayad Ajan; Mahmoud Al Aswad, Jalil Elías, Ezequiel Ham, Ammar Ramadan; Pablo Sabbag, Ibhraim Hesar

India find themselves in a make-or-break situation, having suffered a disheartening 0-2 defeat to Australia and a humbling 3-0 loss against Uzbekistan in the tournament’s initial stages. With no points secured, Igor Stimac’s squad faces a challenging path to the Round of 16.

Despite the uphill battle, an unexpected triumph against Syria could dramatically alter the narrative and revive India’s prospects. The team aims to secure a spot as one of the top four third-placed teams, emphasizing the significance of a positive result in this critical encounter.

Syria, under the guidance of Hector Cuper, have demonstrated resilience in their recent performances. Holding Uzbekistan to a draw and narrowly losing 0-1 to Australia, they have accumulated a solitary point in the group. As India strives to turn their fortunes around, they confront a formidable opponent in Syria, heightening the stakes in this must-win fixture.