5 historic football games that India has played

India 2-1 South Korea: 1962 Asian Games Final

India beat South Korea to win the Asian Games gold

After the heroics of the 1960 Olympics, India entered the 1962 Asian games with justified optimism. In the group stage, they were clubbed with South Korea, Japan and Thailand. The opening game was against the Koreans and India were shocked by a 2-0 score line.

With two teams qualifying from the group, India knew they still had their destiny in their hands. They beat Thailand and Japan convincingly to reach the semi-finals of the competition, where they beat South Vietnam 3-2 in a closely fought match.

The final was to be played between India and South Korea. With the South Koreans having already beaten India in the first match, Indian manager, Syed Abdul Rahim, made a surprise decision. He opted to deploy Jarnail Singh, primarily a defender, as a striker.

Singh repaid the manager’s faith in him by doubling the lead after PK Banerjee had scored in the 17^th minute. The Koreans scored in the 85^th minute to halve the deficit, but it was too little too late. That, unfortunately, remains India’s last gold medal won by the football team at the Asian games.

South Korea 0-2 India: 1964 Asian Cup

Inder Singh (2nd from R) scored a goal against South Korea

With only four teams competing for the cup, India had a decent chance of winning the cup. Israel, South Korea and Hong Kong were the other teams competing for the cup. India played their first game against defending champions South Korea.

India had a host of talent at their disposal with the likes PK Banerjee, Jarnail Singh and Chuni Goswami at the peak of their careers. India thrashed the champions 2-0 with goals from Appalaraju and Inder Singh. However, India lost 2-0 against Israel in the second game of the tournament and Israel went on to beat all other teams to lift the trophy. India went on to finish second, which to this day, remains their best-ever performance in an Asian Cup.

India 1-0 UAE: 2002 World Cup Qualifier

Indian players celebrating Jules Alberto’s goal

In the 2002 World Cup Qualification group stage, India were drawn with UAE, Brunei and Yemen. India played one of their best games in recent history against UAE at home. UAE were one of the best teams in Asia at that time and when the groups were made, it was assumed UAE would qualify with ease.

UAE visited Bangalore in 2001 as hot favourites to win the game. India maintained their shape really well and were disciplined throughout the game. In front of a 40,000 plus crowd, Jules Alberto was the quickest to react to a loose ball and tap it over the onrushing keeper to keep the hope alive.

India defended for their lives and came away with a 1-0 win. Even though they did not qualify for the World Cup, that was the most exciting day for the modern generation of Indian football fans across the country.