FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 | India knocked out of the tournament after a 0-3 loss against Morocco

Ending India's hopes of making it through to the knockout stages, Morocco registered a 3-0 victory, their first-ever in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday, October 14.

Despite the loss, the host nation put on a comprehensively improved performance tonight.

Indian Eves suffered a 0-8 drubbing at the hands of the USA in the opening game. But head coach Thomas Dennerby stuck to his 4-2-3-1 strategy, along with some personnel changes. Melody Chanu started in the goalkeeping spot, while forward Lynda Kom Serto was dropped to the bench.

Right from the initial exchanges, the Young Tigresses showed a lot more solidity in their defensive line and possession. In the eighth minute, Anita latched up a loose ball in the opposition half and crossed the ball for Nitu. But the latter's effort was blocked right away.

India tried to play a lot of one-touch passes but often ended up giving up possession. However, they showed clear aggression to press and win the ball back.

In the 18th minute, however, the visitors had a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock as Melody came out to clear her lines but completely missed the ball. After a bit of scuffle inside the box, Moroccan skipper Yasmine Zouhir unleashed an effort which rattled the crossbar.

After narrowly surviving, seconds later, the hosts launched an attack of their own as Neha whipped in a dangerous cross from a corner situation but the ball evaded the Indian players.

Throughout the first half, Morocco continued to show more attacking intent but India were quick to clear their lines. Indian skipper Astam Oraon stepped in with multiple crucial interceptions and showed great composure.

The hosts went into half-time with the scoreline still stuck at 0-0 and with much more satisfaction than on the night against the United States.

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Morocco put an end to India's resistance in the second half

What could've seemingly been a memorable second half for India soon turned into an absolute horror show. In the 50th minute, defender Naketa handled the ball inside her own penalty box and the referee was quick to blow the whistle to award a penalty to Morocco.

Melody suddenly had gargantuan pressure on her shoulder to preserve India's clean sheet. But the young keeper faltered as Doha El Madani scored from the spot to score the country's first goal in the tournament’s history.

Soon after, India conceded their second goal of the night when Samya Masnaoui drilled in a low cross from the right flank and Melody spilled it. Yasmine Zouhir was presented with an absolute gift as she tucked the ball into the open net in the 62nd minute.

Four minutes later, the Indian custodian had a slight moment of salvation as she pulled off a crucial stop in a one-on-one situation against Hajar Said. Slowly but evidently, Dennerby's girls lost the punch that they were packing in the first half.

However, in the 83rd minute, India had an opportunity to create history when Anita Kumari came close to scoring the country's first goal of the tournament. But she was expertly denied by Wissal Titah.

In the 91st minute, Djennah Cherif piled on India's misery as she tucked home the final goal of the game with a neat finish.

The loss marks the end of India's hopes of making it through to the knockout stages. However, they still have another group stage game to play against the mighty Brazilians on October 17.

The Young Tigresses are at the bottom of the table and are yet to rack up a single point or goal in the tournament.