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India Under-23 football team beats Brunei Darussalam 6-0 in AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers but misses out on progression after Qatar tops Group H.
India beat Brunei Darussalam 6-0 but suffer heartbreak in AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers (AIFF)
The India Under-23 men’s football team was eliminated from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers despite a 6-0 victory over Brunei Darussalam at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in their final group match.
The Blue Colts finished with six points from three matches and had to wait for the outcome of the other Group H match between Qatar and Bahrain at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha. The hosts, Qatar, won 2-1, coming back from a goal down to score twice in injury time.
Qatar topped the group with a perfect record of nine points from three matches, while India ended up second with six points.
Although the four best second-placed teams (from 11 groups) also qualified, India finished the campaign ranked fifth among the group runner-ups.
Midfielder Vibin Mohanan scored a hat-trick (5′, 7′, 62′), Mohammed Aimen netted two (87′, 90+7′), and Ayush Chhetri added one (41′) in Tuesday’s match.
How India Beat Brunei Darussalam?
India started strongly when Muhammed Suhail weaved into the box and cut it back for Vibin, who rode a tackle before finishing from close range to give his side the lead in the fifth minute.
Vibin scored again a couple of minutes later when his attempted aerial through ball bounced over the Brunei goalkeeper’s head and looped into the net.
The Blue Colts continued to press the Brunei defence but were either thwarted or missed their chances.
Coach Moosa introduced centre forward Parthib Gogoi in the 32nd minute to give his side more of an attacking edge.
Nine minutes later, Ayush added the third goal, finishing off a fine move after playing a one-two inside the box with Sreekuttan MS.
India pressed on in the second half, laying siege on the Brunei penalty area. It took them just over 15 minutes after the restart to score the fourth, with Vibin completing his hat-trick from a finely-curled free-kick through the Brunei wall.
Substitutes Sahil Harijan, Aimen, and Soham Varshneya were brought on to make an impact.
While the desired impact was seen in terms of opening up the opposition defence, India lacked the finishing touch.
Harijan had a couple of close chances when he made smart runs between the lines.
On the first occasion, he had only the goalkeeper to beat but was tackled by Brunei defender Irfan Abdullah. On the second, his first-time shot off a Vibin cross went inches wide of an open goal.
Aimen was also knocking at the Brunei goalmouth and sent his powerful shot in the 83rd minute, crashing into the upright. Harijan thought he had scored a minute later when he tapped in an Aimen cross, but was flagged offside.
Aimen added two more superb goals, both long-rangers in the dying moments of the game, to make it 6-0 for the Blue Colts.
(With inputs from PTI)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin… Read More
September 10, 2025, 15:21 IST
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