“Ladies and gentlemen, today’s estimated attendance is 45,000,” said the stadium announcer towards the end of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Group A match between India and the USA. The announcement provoked cheers from the crowd at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. India were losing 2-0 at the time and most of the fans were in the process of leaving or sitting idly. One couldn’t blame them, traffic was a nightmare outside the stadium before the match started and basic amenities like water bottles were missing inside it. All said and done, at least 30,000 fans did stay until the final whistle went up.
Every single one of those thousands who stayed back had their hearts in their mouths when Anwar Ali latched on to a ball that fell lose inside the opposition box from a corner with just over five minutes of regular time left. It was a volley hit with some power from the left side of goal and Ali was looking for the top right corner, the one that was closest for him. The ball left his foot and rose. But one just knew even halfway through its journey that it was rising too steeply. It went on to hit the crossbar. It didn’t matter whether you were sitting in the ridiculously cheap Category 4 seats, the Category 1 seats, the media box or the team dug-out, you could feel the thud of the ball as it hit that bar and fell back into play. In the frenzy of all the shooting and agony, the US broke free. They passed the ball to Andrew Carlton who found himself ahead of the entire Indian defence, onside and with only the keeper to beat. He drew out Dheeraj Moirangthem, who had been brilliant throughout the match despite that scoreline and calmly dribbled away from him before passing it into the far corner. United States led 3-0, game over.
This was India’s first taste of the ruthlessness a top quality side possesses. For all the times they have played outside the country in the past year and a half, they have never faced a team that can be considered even close to the United States, or even Colombia and Ghana for that matter, in any department of the pitch. India started the match on a defensive note. As coach Luis Norton de Mattos would say later in the post match press conference, the home side’s passing in the final third was their undoing. “We started the game very shy in the last pass. We had to pose some problems to them and we didn’t because we were always not able to get the last pass correct.”
The United States were weary of the likes of Komal Thatal and Ninthoinganba Meetei catching them on the counter and treaded carefully with their attacks in the early minutes. But India’s inability to maintain possession for more than two passes in the opposition half seemed to embolden them. The Indian defenders were holding a high line throughout the first half. Tackles inside the box become more frequent in such a situation and India fared well in that department during the first 15 minutes. One noteworthy moment was when Rahul Kannoly took the ball away from a dangerous Tim Weah with an inch perfect tackle at the touchline. If it wasn’t for that, Weah would have passed it to Josh Sargent right across the face of goal and US would have been 1-0 up then and there. As the game went past the half hour mark, the waves of American attacks increased in their frequency and the Indian defenders started conceding fouls. One such foul was in the penalty box. Centre back Jitendra Singh, who was the main culprit, and his team mates remonstrated with the referee with folded hands, their mouths outlining the word ‘Please.’ But it was a clear foul and Josh Sargent stepped up.
Sargent became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the FIFA Under 20 World Cup held earlier in the year. He grabbed four goals and an assist in that tournament. This made him one of the all time highest scorers in the U-20 level for the US. Those goals also made some European heads turn and Bundesliga side Werder Bremen recently announced that Sargent will sign for the club in February 2018 after he turns 18. In terms of the most talented youngsters in the world, Sargent is royalty. It would have been a surprise had he missed and he was as cool as anyone could be while taking a penalty for his country in any World Cup and the United States were finally in the lead.
India started the second half with more vigour. Thatal and Jadhav pressed high, forcing the American defenders into taking the aerial route away from their half of the pitch, as opposed to the leisurely ground passes they could pull off in the first half. But they did break and provoked a corner in the 48th minute. India were no match for the Americans physically and needed goalkeeper Dheeraj Moinganthem to punch the ball out in most set piece situations. This time though, it was a poorly taken corner that flew over all the heads and bounced off the rather surprised looking Indian skipper Amarjit Singh. The ball fell sweetly for Chris Durkin at the edge of the box. First time volleys, when on target, are always difficult to deal with for any goalkeeper, especially in the chaotic aftermath of a corner. Dheeraj could only get a hand to the ball before it went in.
India were visibly deflated after that but they kept pushing and at the forefront was Komal Thattal. The winger, who only turned 17 last month, was running circles around Jaylin Lindsey and James Sands by this time. His team mates joined in and the attacks produced a chance as Aniket Jadhav put the ball in from the right side of the box, looking for Abhijit Sarkar. The latter couldn’t reach it but the pass itself turned out to be on target, albeit not much for US keeper Justin Garces to deal with. Anwar Ali then had his chance before Carleton killed the match.
After that third goal, the Indian shoulders – on the field and in the stands – dropped. Reality started setting in. There was going to be no miracle. The Indian players, lacking any experience whatsoever of playing in such an atmosphere, would not be holding their hands up in unfiltered glee after the final whistle. It was to be as coach De Mattos had said a number of times in the run up to this opener. The United States were a far better team on the pitch and the scoreline reflected that.
The spectators would have been left with mixed feelings about this game. That this Indian team would be no match for USA was common knowledge. A win for the hosts would have been the most unlikely outcome of this fixture. But that one shot that hit the crossbar and the subsequent American goal did leave a sting in the air. A physical and tactical gulf between India and the top sides in the world is a reality and this match is an example.
For the boys who turned up in the Indian blue, though, this will be a night to savour. Make no mistake, they were just inches away from making it 2-1 with about six minutes of regular time left in the match and send a shiver down the Americans’ spine. These players will also remember that, at the end of it all, it was the night when they became the first representatives of India in a FIFA World Cup across age groups
