India football team's past record at Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad

The Blue Tigers will face Malaysia in the Gachibowli stadium on 18th November this month.

India will be playing their final match of 2024 when they host Malaysia in an international friendly on November 19. It was recently confirmed that the match will take place at the Gachibowli Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad – which is the home ground of Indian Super League (ISL) side Hyderabad FC.

It appears that Manolo Marquez is quite fond of having his team play their matches in Hyderabad after spending many years as the Nawabs’ head coach in the past. India played their last two home games during the 2024 Intercontinental Cup at the Gachibowli Stadium as well and the ground will be the one to act as hosts for the Blue Tigers final home match of 2024 too.

The Gachibowli Stadium has hosted quite a lot of India’s matches since its opening in 2001. India also have a pretty solid record when it comes to playing on the ground, as we look at their record here.

India 1-0 Afghanistan (30 July, 2008)

The first-ever international football match that was held at the Gachibowli Stadium was the opening match of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. It was an eight-team tournament with two groups of four, with India being paired with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan in their group.

Their first match at the Gachibowli Stadium was against Afghanistan in what ended up being a hard-fought battle. The Blue Tigers were frustrated for the majority of the game before midfielder Climax Lawrence scored a dramatic winner in the 92nd minute to seal a 1-0 win for his side.

Tajikistan 1-1 India (1 August, 2008)

Tajikistan proved to give the Blue Tigers a much tougher fight than Afghanistan and took the hosts to the limit in their second group game. The Blue Tigers fell behind in the 11th minute through a goal from Tajikistan striker Yusuf Rabiev and they had to face an uphill battle after that.

But Bob Houghton’s side showed a lot of resolve after the break, earning a fortunate equalizer through an own goal from goalkeeper Alisher Tuychiev in the 61st minute. Neither side was able to score after that, forcing them to split the points.

ALSO READ: List of all goals scored by India football team in 2024

Turkmenistan 1-2 India (3 August, 2008)

The Blue Tigers faced arguably their biggest test of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup group stages when they faced off against Turkmenistan in the final group clash. But Bob Houghton’s side showcased a lot of resilience and composure against the Asian heavyweights, not allowing them to play their natural game.

Bhaichung Bhutia came up big in the second half, scoring a brace with impressive goals in the 54th and 80th minute marks. The visitors pulled one back in the 84th minute, but India held onto a win that helped them top their group as well.

India 1-0 Myanmar (7 August, 2008)

In the semi-finals of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, India were paired up to face off against a Myanmar side that had only conceded two goals in their three group games. It was not going to be an easy game for Bob Houghton’s side, but they showcased immaculate resolve of their own. India did not let the visitors take control of the game and were patient with their work on the field.

With the game seemingly dragging to extra-time, Sunil Chhetri came up with a huge goal in the 82nd minute – which proved to be the winner. India would go onto the final (held in New Delhi) where a Chhetri hattrick and Bhutia goal helped them clinch the AFC Challenge Cup title with a 4-1 win over Tajikistan.

India 0-0 Mauritius (3 September, 2024)

The first official match that India played in the Manolo Marquez era happened in the Hyderabad stadium too. With a lot of anticipation behind it, India hosted Mauritius in their first match of the 2024 Intercontinental Cup.

The Blue Tigers huffed and puffed, but were just not able to penetrate the Mauritius backline to score goals. The game ended up as a drab 0-0 draw and not at all the kind of start that Marquez would’ve wanted.

India 0-3 Syria (9 September, 2024)

The previous match that the Blue Tigers played at the Gachibowli Stadium was their recent home game under Marquez. They faced a stern test against a strong Syria side in what was a defacto ‘final’ of the 2024 Intercontinental Cup.

The Blue Tigers failed to hit top gear in the game and Syria just didn’t give them much space after taking a 7th-minute lead through Mahmoud Al Aswad. Dahelo Irandust and Pablo Sabbag then scored two more in the final phase of the match to give Syria a big win to clinch the Intercontinental Cup title.

Syria clinches the Intercontinental Cup title. 🏆#IndianFootball ⚽️ #IntercontinentalCup2024 pic.twitter.com/pLON8ItVKA

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 9, 2024

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