5 Most Heartbreaking Second-half Losses in Indian Football History

Modified Jan 17, 2019 21:26 IST

These second-half goals were the most heart-wrenching moments an Indian football fan had to endure in his lifetime

#2 2018 AFC U-16 Championships Quarter Finals - South Korea (Jeong Sang-bin 68') 1-0 India

India managed to hold Asian powerhouses South Korea until the 67th minute

India's performance in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup showed that the nation had enough character and fitness to rub shoulders against the footballing superpowers in the junior level. The next task was to prove the world that it wasn't a flash in the pan and, the grassroots program was indeed a success.

The 2018 AFC U-16 Championships doubled up as the qualifiers to the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup and, Bibiano Fernandes and his boys only had to reach the semi-finals to ensure India make their second consecutive appearance in the tournament.

In the group stages, they edged out Vietnam 1-0 through Vikram Pratap Singh's penalty in the 86th minute before holding Asian powerhouses Iran 0-0 and Indonesia to a goalless stalemate.

India gave an extremely good display of defensive solidarity in the quarter-final against South Korea and even managed to hit the crossbar in the counter. However, the dogged resistance was finally broken in the 68th minute by Jeong Sang-bin after he latched on a rebound from a well-taken free kick. That goal was enough to shatter India's dreams.

Edited by Aravind Suchindran