The Indian football team went down 1-0 to Syria in their final Group B game of the AFC Asian Cup at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar on Tuesday.
The teams were tied for most of the game before Omar Khrbin’s 73rd-minute winner sealed the deal for the Eagles of Qasioun.
India put up a determined show in the fixture as they looked to open their account in the tournament after their first two failed attempts.
The Blue Tigers headed into the game targeting a win to stand any chance of progressing in the continental tournament as one of the third-placed sides from the six groups.
However, their hope of remaining in the event in Qatar came crashing down as Khrbin’s strike broke the Indian resistance just under fifteen minutes from time.
The loss condemned India to a winless campaign in which Igor Stimac’s men failed to claim a win over ever salvage a point from a draw after they lost all three of their group games.
India opened their campaign with a 0-2 loss against heavyweights Australia despite some fine displays of defensive integrity and grit. However, holding on to the game for 90 minutes proved too much for the Blue Tigers against the experienced Socceroos, who netted twice in the second half to begin their campaign with a win.
India then moved on to face Uzbekistan, which also ended in a defeat as the white wolves sealed a 0-3 win over the Indians to further hamper the Blue Tigers’s prospect of progress.
Sunil Chhetri and Co. were required to win their final game against Syria and hope for positive results in fixtures from other groups, but their challenge for advancement at the continental event fell flat as they suffered a narrow defeat to the Syrians despite their best efforts.
As a result team India were knocked out of the tournament rather unceremoniously without being able to put up a point on the tally, and having conceded a total of six goals without reply across three games.
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