King's Cup: Talking points from India's loss to Lebanon

India ended fourth in the King's Cup.

After losing closely to Iraq, It ended in another heartbreak for India as Lebanon handed them a narrow defeat in the King's Cup third-place playoff. The Blue Tigers were the second best team as Lebanon cruised past them with a 1-0 win.

It was a pretty evenly poised game until Lebanon’s Kassem El Zein found the back of the net in the 77th minute. And after India conceded the goal there was no way back for them.

On that note, we take a look at the talking points from India’s game against Lebanon.

3. India’s defensive solidity

The Blue Tigesr maintained a sturdy backline yet again and denied Lebanon from scoring from open play. Anwar Ali and Sandesh Jhingan were pretty solid at the back and put in a good shift with their challenges and clearances.

It took a moment of brilliance from Kassem El Zein who scored past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, courtesy a back-volley. Other than that, India were always one step ahead of Lebanon. And it was only after the arrival of Karim Darwich that Lebanon looked more dangerous.

2. India’s struggle in front of goal

Unlike the game against Iraq, the Indian attackers struggled to put up a good performance against Lebanon. The Blue Tigers failed to create chances which came back to haunt them after Lebanon took the lead.

India’s forwards were pretty underwhelming today, which again reminds us how valuable and important Sunil Chhetri is to this team. Without Chhetri, the team not only failed to create chances but also lacked their goal-scoring instincts.

1. Lebanon finally emerge victorious

It is the first time in 2023 that Lebanon have clinched a victory against the Blue Tigers. After losing two and drawing one in three matches in three months, Lebanon had the last laugh this time around.

The Cedars had always given India a very tough fight on the pitch and pushed them to their limits, but never managed to emerge victorious. But, today they were the better side and defeated India to clinch the bronze medal at the 49th King’s Cup.