Wrap-up of India vs Colombia: Thanks all, for joining the live coverage of the India vs Colombia game. Do join us on Thursday for India vs Ghana. And maybe India will finish on a high. What better way to sign off from this live blog, than with a word from Captain Fantastic Sunil Chettri and the cheers from JLN as the Indian boys walk off the pitch. Good night from all of us at The Field!
Some full-time reaction, plenty of love for the Indian U-17 boys despite a 1-2 defeat:
FULL TIME, INDIA 1-2 COLOMBIA: Dheeraj makes a brilliant save in the dying moments of the match as Colombia have a corner. But that’s all we have time for. IT’s ended 2-1 in favour of the South Americans. Valiant performance from India, coming close to snatching a point but that’s life at the World Cup, folks. Positive intent from the team.
Arka, with his on the whistle reaction from JLN: A word for De Matos. For a chasing team to make two substitutions is borderline criminal. Komal Thatal left on the bench as the forwards tired towards the end of the match.
Four mins of the 5 minutes played in added time: For what it’s worth...
Into the extra time, Colombia lead 2-1: It’s so cruel that the Indian lads couldn’t even celebrate their first goal properly but the adage goes that the team is most vulnerable after just scoring. They have continued to pour forward, pressing hard. Ninthoi and Nongdamba with plenty of running still. Can India find the equaliser again?
OHH DEAR. COLOMBIA GO AHEAD! LEAD 2-1: What a crazy couple of minutes it has been! Jeakson Singh heads the ball in from a corner from Stalin, only for the South Americans to hit back immediately. It’s that man Penalosa again as Carvajal passes it to the no 11 who slides it home to give Colombia the lead again. Indian crowd brought down after that moment of sheer joy. The place was rocking just for a bit but the ecstasy doesn’t last long. India continue to press forward. Trailing 1-2 after 87 mins.
GOALLLLLL INDIA! Remember the name, Jeakson Singh! The tall midfielder pulls India level in the 82nd minute!
After 77 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: HOW HAVE INDIA NOT SCORED TODAY? Again, Aniket with a turn and swivel breaks through as his ball to Nongdamba finds the Manipuri with only the keeper to beat but the Colombian keeper makes a smart save to deny the substitutes from combining to score. De Matos going for broke now with a formation that will resemble 3-4-3.
After 74 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: The man with the pace Nongdamba Naorem coming on. He impressed in a cameo against USA. Boris has had a good game, but the bandaged warrior is being taken off (his head wrapped up) as he was cramping too. Time running out for India.
After 72 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: Well, India are trying their best to pull it back but there is a feeling that they are running out of steam. Some weird clearances inside their own box but the defenders get away with it. Colombia keeping possession better now. India preparing to make the second chance.
After 64 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: Update from Arka at JLN. “Mejia replaces Cortes. Penalosa, who started off in a position that resembled a wide full-back now leads the line. Colombian priorities clearer now. Aniket Jadhav looking set to come on. I’m not sure about this. Would have preferred more pace being injected.” And indeed Aniket comes on in place of No. 10 Abhijit.
After 62 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: India are showing purpose in going forward but yet again, they get dispossessed when they try to run with it. A brief cheer went up in the stadium as the ball found the back of the net but the offside flag was already up against India. Colombia keeping the ball in their half now.
After 57 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: A lengthy break in play due to some cramping and look what we found:
After 54 mins, India 0-1 Colombia: India have poured forward a couple of times since conceding, but no end product. Boris’ excellent cross reaches Rahul KP but his header goes well wide. The game is getting stretched as well with Colombia finding joy down the right. A cramp for the Colombian GK means there is a lengthy break in play.
49th minute - COLOMBIA SCORE! What a finish from the Colombian no 11. Juan Penaloza -corker of a finish from the edge of the penalty area after dancing past India’s left back with a shimmy. India seem to have switced off for a minute and pay the price (once again) for not converting their chances. They resume the game on the attack though.
46th min, India 0-0 Colombia: We have kick-off in the second half. Luis Lopez is substituted by Brayan Gomez for Colombia.
08:55 pm: Some half-time reaction. It’s 0-0 so far.
HALF TIME, India 0-0 Colombia: What an entertaining half of football. It started out cagey but both teams are neck and neck. Colombia with more chances but India fashioned the two best opportunities of the half. Sarkar through on goal, hit the keeper. Rahul with a volley, beat the keeper and hit the crossbar. Shame they weren’t converted but as their first game and Ghana against US today demonstrated, misses can be very painful at this level. Join us for an exciting first-half and what is sure to be a thrilling conclusion to this match.
After 45 mins (+2) India 0-0 Colombia: India go close again! Rahul KP hits the bar at the end of the first half. A Boris cross leads to a chance but the boy from Kerala beats the keeper only to see his shot come off the post! It was an excellent effort, mighty unlucky. The referee blows for half-time.
After 43 mins, India 0-0 Colombia: Colombia growing into the game as the half comes to an end. The South Americans dominating possession as India look to set Rahim Ali free on the counter. Another good save by Dheeraj – Yadir Meneses with a sharp shot with his left as pressure on Dheeraj grows – he throws himself to the near post and palms it away. Gets injured from the resulting corner but back up.
After 38 mins India 0-0 Colombia: Anwar clearly struggling at the center of defence, but hoping to hold on till half-time. He has been solid in his defending though. 37th min and Colombia’s best chance. Campaz sees his shot saved by Dheeraj as the cross from the right sees the No 7 head it towards goal. He dives and pushes it away acrobatically. The shot was never going to trouble the keeper with the pace of the header not enough, says Arka.
After 32 mins India 0-0 Colombia: de Matos livid on the touchline as India give away possession cheaply. As Ninthoi breaks forward from a stray pass by Colombia in their half, he is brought down on the edge of the box. Players and crowd remonstrate but referee Ricardo Montero from Costa Rica is unmoved – for good reason. Dheeraj comes out a long way from his goal to make a clearance and brings Campaz down – accidental, deemed by the referee. Anwar down on the ground again in India’s box. The Punjabi lad has gone down a couple of times, but he gets up once again.
After 28 mins India 0-0 Colombia: Dheeraj’s distribution has been off the mark tonight. India’s no 1 should be doing better with his kicking. And maybe too early to say but Jeakson’s inclusion is helping India in midfield. The 6 foot 1 inch Manipuri lad fighting more evenly with the Colombians for the aerial balls. Colombia have the first real chance of the night, the ball falls to Campaz in the box down the left but he opts to square it instead of going for goal. India clear. India continue to work forward down the right.
After 21 mins, India 0-0 Colombia: The boys in blue have had the best chance of the match – by a country mile. Dheeraj finally forced to make a save from a long shot and he palms it way instead of catching it Comfortable though. And India on the counter again, but Ninthoi’s pass is a bit too heavy as Rahim Ali was running off the shoulder of the last man. Much, much better from India tonight.
After 16 mins, India 0-0 Colombia: India almost score! Sarkar feints, beats two, shoots! Crowd goes berserk but Kevin Mier saves. “Oh my god, JLN has enough sound to drown out the plane that just passed it overhead right now,” says Arka. Good play down the right by Boris and Ninthoi. And meantime, it’s like the whole Colombian team has been asked to pass it to Campaz.
After 10 mins, India 0-0 Colombia: Nasty coming together of Ninthoi and Campaz in the 7th minute. India’s no 7 writhing in pain on the ground, clutching his face. He gets to his feet as the crowd cheers for him. Free-kick from Dheeraj comes to nothing. More long balls. No steady possession for either side.
After 5 mins, India 0-0 Colombia: Crowd not to the levels of the opening game, says Arka from JLN. But India are seeing more of the ball than the US game. Starting with a few hopeful long balls though, looks like the focus is to keep the ball in the air more. A wild shot from Colombia makes it a cagey start in Delhi.
Kick-off in New Delhi: Colombia with four changes too. We can expect a physical game from Orlando Restrepo’s team. Watch out for the number 7, Jaminton Campaz. Jeakson’s first pass is a long ball, gives away possession almost immediately.
07:59 pm: National anthems done. The volume is rising in Delhi. We are all set for the start for what is a very, very cruical match for both sides.
07:55 pm: Here’s how things stand in India’s group. USA have qualified, meaning there’s one slot available for Colombia, Ghana and of course, India.
07:50 pm: Here’s Arka Bhattacharya with his take on the Indian lineup for tonight. Plenty of changes and that’s got a lot to do with the performance against USA:
De Matos ruthless in his selection. Jitendra Singh dropped because Namit Deshpande was carrying a knock in the first match, now fit to start. Coach obviously not happy with the midfield and the attack, Jeakson brings in more physicality instead of Suresh. Rahim Ali will be expected to hold up the ball much better than Aniket did.They needed an outlet, hoping they find one in Rahim.
Thatal’s exclusion is a surprise, showed glimpses of his quality but De Matos obviously not happy with the amount of time the winger took on the ball. Had to revert back to a back four and could have dropped Sarkar to accommodate Boris but chose to drop Komal instead.
07:47 pm: He missed the first game due to a suspension but de Matos will be happy to have Boris back. Read more about him here:
07:32 pm: A look back to the previous game where de Matos thought that 3-0 ‘was a punishment to his side.’
In the end, the three goals came from a penalty, a deflection and a counter-attack. It could have been a game of ifs and buts, it wasn’t to be in the end, as India were initiated to World Cup football in the cruellest way possible.
Luis Norton de Matos may claim that the scoreline was a punishment for his team but India made some costly errors. ‘Schoolboy’ isn’t the exact word to describe the passing but as an unit going forward, there remains a lot to be desired.
When faced with a superior opponent, ‘just sit back and counter’ is what most coaches would have communicated to their wards. On this occasion, the boys looked overawed in the first half and were penned in, throughout the first half due to the lack of a release ball.
Read more here:
07:28 pm: Interesting that the two main attacking threats from the match against USA on the bench against Colombia? Arka Bhattacharya had noted that the Colombia players grew visibly tired in their match against Ghana on Friday and perhaps de Matos wants to unleash his pacy forwards for the fag end of the match. Mind you, Boris and Rahim (who are back in the side) add a lot of pace to the proceedings as well.
07:17 pm: Coach de Matos spoke about the match today and he hinted at an attacking approach. “We will play to win. We have no other choice but to play to win,” he had said.
From Arka Bhattacharya’s preview:
The first match saw a turnout of 36,000-plus turn up to cheer the young colts and that may or may not be the case come kick-off, but the Indian side will look to start faster than they did against the US in their 3-0 defeat.
Both in the aftermatch of the game and in the run-up to the second one, De Matos has maintained the narrative of a ‘2-1 scoreline’ and how the game was closer than it appeared. The Portuguese has stressed that the scoreline was harsh on his team but those that were at the game, may not necessarily agree with his assessment.
07:12 pm: Interesting that Komal Thattal has been benched for the game today. The other three players sitting out are Aniket Jadhav, Jitendra Singh, and Suresh Wangjam.
Full XI: Dheeraj (GK), Boris, Deshpande, Anwar Ali, Stalin, Jeakson, Amarjit(C), Ninthoiganba, Sarkar, Rahim
07:10 pm: First things first, here’s the lineup for today’s match. India make four changes:
06:55 pm: Hello all, and welcome to the live blog of India’s second match at the Fifa Under 17 World Cup, where they take on Colombia at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. This is Vinayakk Mohanarangan, and as always, we have Arka Bhattacharya – our man in the middle – reporting from the capital. Hop in for what promises to be another exciting night.