India were eliminated from Asian Cup 2019 after losing 0-1 to Bahrain
India suffered a heart-breaking 0-1 defeat to Bahrain in their last group stage match to crash out of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Sharjah on Monday. Jamal Rashed scored from the spot in stoppage-time to propel Bahrain to the round of 16. In the other match in Group A, Thailand secured a 1-1 draw against hosts United Arab Emirates. India finished last in the Group A points table with three points, while the UAE, Thailand, and Bahrain qualified for the knockout stages with five and four points, respectively. Thailand, who lost 1-4 to India in the opening match, still have a chance to make it to the next round.
Entering their final group game following a 4-1 win over Thailand and a 0-2 loss to hosts UAE, a determined India held on for 90 minutes before conceding.
Bahrain dominated the match but could not find a way past a resolute India. The Indian defense repelled attack after attack from Bahrain but it all went south for India in injury-time.
A late goal from Bahrain dent the Indians’ qualifying hopes to the next round of the #AsianCup2019.
Read the match report 👉 https://t.co/0N2y8WQCa5 https://t.co/51xXuVKfh1
— #AsianCup2019 (@afcasiancup) January 14, 2019
Bahrain converted a penalty in the 91st minute through Jamal Rashed, who made no mistake from the spot after India captain Pronay Halder committed a careless tackle inside the box.
Captain for the game, Halder played as if his life depended on it. The ATK midfielder was one of the best Indian players on the pitch, arguably better than even Chhetri. Only Jhingan looked to have overshadowed him.
He stopped at least four shots on target, proving his extreme mettle as a defensive midfielder. His giving away of a penalty at the end takes nothing away from him, as that could happen to any player
Constantine resigns after India’s Asian Cup exit
Indian football team head coach Stephen Constantine has stepped down after the team’s shock 0-1 defeat to Bahrain which led to its exit from the showpiece Asian Cup. His contract was to end on January 31.
Constantine’s resignation came after India crashed out of the showpiece Asian Cup under dramatic circumstances here Monday. India were on the verge of booking its maiden knock-out round berth as the final Group A match was 0-0 till the 90th minute when Bahrain earned a penalty which the West Asian team converted to win the game under dramatic circumstances.
The All India Football Federation, in its official Twitter handle, said that the 56-year-old Constantine has resigned.
Mr. @StephenConstan has announced his resignation as the Head Coach of the Indian National Team. We haven’t received any official communication from him yet but we accept his decision & thank him for his contribution to #Indianfootball: Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF pic.twitter.com/S792tJ6r1h
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) January 14, 2019
