The Indian football team on Saturday went down fighting against Australia in their AFC Asian Cup opener. Australia were clearly the better team in the match, creating chances after chances, while the Indian defenders put their body in line to keep the score 2-0. Towards the end of the match, Australia created a chance and took 6 shots, with Indian defenders blocking each of them before the last one went sailing over the bar.
India went into the match with a defensive approach, leaving attacking players like Anirudh Thapa and Liston Colaco out of the starting XI. After being thwarted in the first half, Australia took the lead early in 2nd half through Jackson Irvine. They doubled their lead after a 23-minute gap when substitute Jordan Bos scored with his first touch.
In the stoppage time of the 2nd half, Australia created an attack which led to Australian footballers taking shot-after-shot. The attack led to 6 shots being taken at the target. Although the Indian defence did very well to block every shot that came their way.
TV pundit Paul Masefield, seeing the action termed the phrase of play as ‘school level soccer’ as Indians kept putting their bodies in line to defend the shots.
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