Churchill Bros lose Bilal Sheikh El Najjarin to UAE club

I-League leaders Churchill Brothers SC will have to continue their quest for regaining the I-League title without Lebanese defender Bilal Sheikh El Najjarin, who yesterday played his last game for the Goans against Mumbai FC and will now join UAE Pro League side Fujairah SC.

31 year old Bilal has been a standout performer for Churchill Brothers this season amongst an incredibly strong quartet of foreigners which also include Brazilian Beto, Gabon striker Henry and fellow Lebanese Akram.

Bilal had a clause in his one year contract under which he could leave the Goans, if he received a better offer which came his way from Fujairah SC. By signing in the Emirates, Bilal will play in a stronger league with better pay and facilities plus he is closer to his home country Lebanon.

Churchill Brothers are now scouting the international market for a suitable replacement, then Bilal held the Red Machine defence together and he was one of the reasons why the club is top of the I-League.

Now technical director Subhas Bhowmick and coach Mariano Dias will most likely have to plan the upcoming match(es) without a foreign defender with D. Ravanan having to take a leading role in his teams defence.

India U-16 boys lose friendly 2-3 against the UAE U-16

The India Under-16 boys lost a friendly 2-3 against the United Arab Emirates at the UAE FA Stadium in Dubai today. India is preparing for the AFC Under-16 Championship to be played in the Iranian capital Tehran from September 22 to October 6.

India went ahead in the 25th minute through a Daniel Lalampuia strike, but the UAE hit back by scoring three goals before the half-time break to go 3-1 ahead. India did try and get back into the match and reduct the deficit through a Alen Deory penalty, but it remained 3-2 for the UAE at the final whistle.

In an earlier friendly against the UAE, India had lost 1-2 on Wednesday with Daniel Lalampuia having also scored India's goal that day. Ahead of that match India had won 4-1 against the Al Kaleej Academy Under-17 team.

The Colm Toal coach India Under-16 team is preparing to participate in the AFC Under-16 Championship in which the India Under-16 boys have been drawn in Group D alongside Uzbekistan, Syria and China.

AFC Under-22 Qualifiers: How could India qualify for the final Round?

The India Under-22s have played a great qualification campaign so far with seven points from four matches with a match against the hosts Oman on Tuesday, July 3 remaining. Our boys still have the chance to qualify for the final round of the inaugural AFC Under-22 Asian Championships, but certain things need to go our way for that to happen.

I'll try to go through the options how we could qualify for next years AFC Under-22 Asian Championships.

Whoever made the fixtures couldn't have worked out a more interesting last match day. Currently Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are top of the table with both teams on 10 points and they now face each other, while India and Oman are behind them on seven points and also face each other on match day 5.

As head-to-head statistics count in the AFC tournaments there is only one option through which India could directly qualify for the final rounds. That is if Iraq win against the UAE and India at the same time beat Oman. That would mean India and the UAE would then have 10 points, but India already have a better goal difference then the UAE and would go through on goal difference then the two sides played out a one-all draw. This would mean India would join Iraq in the final rounds.

But if the UAE win then India, if they beat Oman, only has a chance to progress as the best third placed side in the qualifiers. Why? Simply as India lost to Iraq 1-2 and have a negative head-to-head record against Iraq even if they have a better goal difference.

Now if Iraq and the United Arab Emirates play out a draw, then all these calculations are useless, then only the third place option remains, but that would only be decided once all qualification groups have been played.

A lot of maths, but as coach Arthur Papas has said let India first win against Oman, then all these calculations would come into play. Still we all hope for the best and a positive outcome for India...

AFC U-22 Qualifiers: India hold mighty UAE to a draw

The India Under-22s drew one-all against the United Arab Emirates in their third match at the AFC Under-22 Asian Championship qualifiers at the Royal Oman Police Stadium in Muscat, Oman to keep their chances to qualify for the finals alive.

Indian coach Arthur Papas made three changes to his starting line-up as Vishal Kumar, Alwyn George and Jeje Lalpekhlua were benched, while they were replaced by Abhishek Das, Saiju Mon Muthappan and Tirthankar Sarkar in a more defensive starting line-up to counter the UAE.

The UAE's Jamal Ibrahim gave his side a 9th minute lead with India only getting the equaliser late in the game through substitute Romeo Fernandes just two minutes from time.

The early UAE goal was an initial setback but it didn't un-nerve India. Rather, they stayed content in building up from back. In the midfield, it was all about the workload. Be it a robust Manandeep Singh upfront, an intelligent Lalrindika Ralte, an irrepressible Milan Singh or a tireless Pranay Halder, the Indians pressed hard all throughout. The first half yielded seven corners and a handball shout was ruled out in the 40th minute inside the UAE penalty box.

Changing over, the UAE defended all throughout – not a strategy but were forced back. They tried to change the combination a number of times, but it failed. Romeo's fresh legs on the right stretched them and in the 51st minute, Tirthankar Sarkar missed heading into an empty second post, the ball agonisingly missing. Jeje replaced Tirthankar in the 69th minute and within two minutes, his free header off a Milan Singh corner just sailed over. UAE were just about surviving dangerously.

Eventually Romeo headed home in the 88th minute following a Vishal Kumar throw-in down the right. A minute later, Romeo had the best chance of the day when he sneaked in between the wall on the left, ran all the way into the 6-yard box but the rival goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Hosani's legs came in between.

National Coach Wim Koevermans and Technical Director Rob Baan congratulated the team on their splendid fightback. "I told you, you will find some good boys in this batch," India U-22 coach Arthur Papas told senior coach Wim Koevermans.

"The boys fought well. It was heartening to fight with such a spirit against such a quality side," AIFF general Secretary Kushal Das, who had dropped in to watch the match, commented. The match ended 1-1 and India could have easily gone back home with three points.

India next play Turkmenistan on June 30 and would need the three points to stay in contention for a place in the final round.


INDIA Under-22s

1-Gurpreet Singh Sandhu [Captain]; 3-Abhishek Das, 14-Souvik Ghosh, 6-Prathamesh Maulingkar, 5-Narayan Das; 34-Pronay Halder (76' 26-Vishal Kumar), 17-Ongnam Milan Singh, 28-Saiju Mon Muthappan (48' 31-Romeo Fernandes), 32-Tirthankar Sarkar (69' 10-Jeje Lalpekhlua), 8-Lalrindika Ralte, 35-Manandeep Singh

AFC Under-22 Qualifiers: India U-22s await confident UAE in decisive match

After their good performance against Iraq, but with no points to their name the India Under-22s know that against the United Arab Emirates only points will count or otherwise their AFC Under-22 Asian Championship qualifying campaign could be close to over.

Ranked 119 in the FIFA World rankings and more importantly, a team which has qualified for the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics, the United Arab Emirates are a tough challenge and with wins against Oman and Turkmenistan they look a tough hurdle to cross.

UAE Coach Baler Sadih says, "We have quite a few options up our sleeve. We look forward to the match." The UAE had been unstoppable so far. In the first match, they beat hosts Oman 2-0 while in the second they accounted for Turkmenistan 1-0.

Ask Arthur Papas and he admits, "This is a defining match in the tournament. We need to maintain our consistency. We have had two very good games so far. Though the results have been different, there are so many positives which have emerged."

"The boys have shown character and at this level you have to play with the same intensity every day," he adds. "UAE are a very tough opposition. I reiterate one shouldn't be expecting miracles. Everyone needs to be patient."

Early morning, the buzz is back. There's an intense Core Training Session in the gym. After breakfast, players line up for their treatment and massage. In between the Hotel staff, most of them Indians come over to inform the ice is waiting. The ice-bath will happen after the evening training session.

Someone who scored against the UAE Senior Team in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers - captain Jeje Lalpekhlua is ready to go. "I still remember Dika's (Lalrindika Ralte) cross which was inch perfect. I just had to nod it in," Jeje says. Dika, smiles. "The turf was slushy was maintaining balance was difficult. There's a sort of telepathy between Jeje and me," he quips.

You just can't keep Manandeep Singh quiet. Sitting next, he plays his one-two. "So on a lush field in Muscat, you will provide us five such centres!" a mischievous Manandeep presses. Jeje adds in a tone of surprise, "Five? We wait for 10 such crosses." The laughter goes all around. Dika stands up, walks to his boots, touches them, comes back and sits down.

"In International Matches, more often than not, the details decide the fate," Papas comments. "Minute details such as set pieces, corners, etc. We need to be perfect."

In the meantime, the phone just doesn't stop ringing. Indians, all based in Muscat, want to meet the team -- Diplomats, Bankers, Executives, Journalists. Requests for tickets flow in.

An UAE supporter, here in Muscat for official work, stayed confident, "Against India we will score minimum five goals," he says and laughs loud. None from the Indian Camp retaliates. They want to give a fitting reply on the field.

If Arthur Papas will send the same team as against Iraq onto the pitch is unknown. Changes look possible.

The kick-off at the Royal Oman Police Stadium is at 19.45 local time (21.15 IST) tomorrow - Thursday, June 28.

Jeje Lalpekhlua to captain India Under-22s

Pune FC's Jeje Lalpekhlua will lead India in the AFC Under-22 Asian Championship qualifiers to be played in Muscat from June 23. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has been named his deputy. The Indian squad which has been preparing at the Al Wasl Training Ground in Dubai leaves for Muscat on Thursday, June 21 morning for the qualifiers.

The final 23 players were also named for the qualifiers with Ramandeep Singh (Air India), Chingkhei Meetei Yumnam (Tata Football Academy), David Lalbiakzara (Pune FC), Bikramjit Singh Sr. (Pailan Arrows) and Rajinder Kumar (Pailan Arrows) being left out of the final squad.

"It is a huge honour for me to lead my country," Jeje said on the appointment. "We have been training under Head Coach Arthur Papas since the first week of June and he has been a pillar of support to all of us," Jeje added.

India who have been clubbed with hosts Oman, Lebanon, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan in Group A of the qualifiers. India open their campaign against Lebanon on June 23.

Meanwhile, the India U-22s defeated DNATA Club 4-1 in their second friendly match yesterday. After a barren first half, Lalrindika Ralte scored a brace for India while Shyjumon and striker Manandeep Singh scored one apiece.


INDIA U-22 Team

Goalkeepers
Soram Poirei Angamba (Shillong Lajong FC), Ravi Kumar (Pailan Arrows), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (East Bengal Club)

Defenders
Abhishek Das (East Bengal Club), Narayan Das (Tata Football Academy), Deepak Devrani (Pailan Arrows), Souvik Ghosh (Pailan Arrows), Pritam Kotal (Pailan Arrows), Vishal Kumar (Pailan Arrows), Prathmesh Maulingkar (Pailan Arrows)

Midfielders
Romeo Fernandes (Dempo SC), Ganeshan (Pune FC), Pronoy Haldar (Pailan Arrows), Shyjumon (Chirag United Kerala), Deepak Prakash (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), Lalrindika Ralte (Churchill Brothers SC), Tirthankar Sarkar (Pailan Arrows), Ongnam Milan Singh (Pailan Arrows), Simranjit Singh (Tata Football Academy)

Forwards
Alwin George (Pailan Arrows), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Pune FC, Captain), Holicharan Narzary (Pailan Arrows), Manandeep Singh (Air India)

Officials
Arthur Papas (Head Coach)

AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Indian Group fixtures out

The qualifiers for the inaugural AFC Under-22 Asian Cup will be held in June/July 2012 with the tournament proper to be played in 2013. India have been drawn in a tough Group A along with the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, Turkmenistan and Lebanon. The Group A matches will be played at the Royal Oman Police Stadium and the Al Seeb Sports Stadium in Muscat, Oman.

In total 41 Member Associations have entered the fray to grab 15 spots in the final competition to be played in 2013. The teams were divided into six groups of six teams each and one group of five. They will play one-round league format and the top two teams will qualify for the tournament proper along with the best third-placed team in all the groups. The hosts of the AFC Under-22 Asian Cup Finals will get a direct berth.


GROUP A FIXTURES
United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, India, Turkmenistan, Lebanon

23-Jun-2012: Oman - United Arab Emirates
23-Jun-2012: India - Lebanon
23-Jun-2012: Iraq - Turkmenistan
25-Jun-2012: United Arab Emirates - Turkmenistan
25-Jun-2012: Iraq - India
25-Jun-2012: Oman - Lebanon
28-Jun-2012: Turkmenistan - Oman
28-Jun-2012: Lebanon - Iraq
28-Jun-2012: United Arab Emirates - India
30-Jun-2012: India - Turkmenistan
30-Jun-2012: Lebanon - United Arab Emirates
30-Jun-2012: Iraq - Oman
03-Jul-2012: Turkmenistan - Lebanon
03-Jul-2012: Oman - India
03-Jul-2012: United Arab Emirates - Iraq


THE OTHER GROUPS

Group B: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka
Group C: Bahrain, Iran, Tajikistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives
Group D: Uzbekistan, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nepal
Group E: Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Macau, Timor Leste
Group F: North Korea, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia
Group G: South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Philippines

VIDEO: Real Madrid Resort Island

Spanish giants Real Madrid are doing a first for a football club. The Los Blancos have partnered the United Arab Emirate 'Ras Al Khaimah' to build the Real Madrid Resort Island on a 1 Billion US-Dollar theme park on a man-made island. The Real Madrid Resort Island will contain 60 luxury bungalows, a 450-room Five-Star hotel, a Marina with a yacht club and a RM Theme Park.

Here the impressive video of the RM resort island set to be opened in January 2015

VIDEO: India vs UAE match highlights

In tough conditions India came from being two goals down to draw the United Arab Emirates 2-2 in the second-leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away qualifier at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi tonight.

Here the match highlights from Dubai Sports/Abu Dhabi Sports

India show spirit, hold UAE to 2-2 draw but out

Team India showed spirit to hold the United Arab Emirates to a 2-2 draw after having been down two goals in the second-leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away qualifier at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi tonight. But the draw in unplayable conditions after heavy rains didn't help India as they went out 2-5 on aggregate. The dream of the next round of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is over. The name of India will not be drawn on Saturday in the preliminary qualification draw in Brazil.

It rained heavily before, even during the game and conditions were difficult for both teams. One has to question why the match commissioner and referee allowed the game to start at all. To the left of the main stand close to the corner flag there wasn't just water on the ground, there was a mini pond of water.

India coped better with the underfoot conditions as UAE initially stumbled into the game as India did really to play the high and long ball was the only option on this field. Steven Dias on the right and Sunil Chhetri seemed to cope best with the conditions, but early chances where wasted. The UAE realised that they had to change their game and coped better as the half went on, but against the run of play took the lead in the 40th minute when striker Mohammed Al Shehhi headed in a cross past Karanjit Singh in goal.

India came back onto to the ground knowing they needed five goals to make the next round. Both teams slowed down due to the heavy underfoot conditions which didn't allow any combinations or usual ball play, often players would skid past the ball or the ball would abruptly stop. India continued to have more of the game, but again their few chances were wasted and the UAE made it two when their captain Mohamed Al Wehaibi scored in the 72nd minute of a beautiful long-ranger from the right.

But India did not give up and only a couple of minutes later youngsters Lalrindika Ralte and Jeje Lalpekhlua combined to reduce the deficit. Dika's left footed cross from the right was headed in by Jeje under the thunderous applause of the crowds. India made a late push for the equaliser and they were rewarded in the second minute of injury time when Gouramangi Singh scored with a shot inside the box after the UAE defence was unable to clear the ball. It ended 2-2 and this brought real joy to the fans who had braved the rains.

After the match coach Armando Colaco said, "This is the beginning of a new era in Indian football. When I backed the juniors, many had raised eyebrows. But the boys played a spirited game."

"Jeje is a strong boy. He just needs to make some minor adjustments to his game. And he is learning fast," Colaco added. "11 vs 11 could have been different," he lamented, referring to India's 3-0 loss in the first-leg.

"We always had a Plan B in place. The boys adopted fast to the conditions. We needed to run all over. The boys did that and that entertained the crowd," Colaco maintained.

UAE's Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec paid tribute to the Full House at the Ambedkar. "In UAE, we hardly get any crowd in a match. But here, the crowd inspired Team India to play to their potential. It's a positive sign no doubt."

India can surely take courage from the fact that the team came back from two goals down to draw against the Emirates plus once more the incredible crowd support at the Ambedkar Stadium, where people can out in numbers despite the heavy rains which lashed the capital. Especially towards the end when India did get twice onto the scoresheet it was vintage Ambedkar like in the Nehru Cups and AFC Challenge Cup.


MATCH STATS

INDIA 2-2 (0-1) United Arab Emirates - Goals: 0-1 Mohammed Al Shehhi (40'), 0-2 Mohamed Al Wehaibi (72'), 1-2 Jeje Lalpekhlua (74'), 2-2 Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh (90+2').

INDIA 23-Karanjit Singh; 16-Samir Naik, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 3-Raju Eknath Gaekwad, 9-Syed Rahim Nabi; 12-Steven Benedic Dias (63' 20-Lalrindika Ralte), 8-Climax Lawrence [C], 21-Mehtab Hussain, 15-Clifford Miranda (84' 13-Jewel Raja Sheikh); 10-Jeje Lalpekhlua, 11-Sunil Chhetri
Substitutes: 1-Sandip Nandy, 22-Laxmikant Kattimani, 2-Harmanjot Singh Khabra, 4-Rowilson Rodrigues, 5-Valeriano Rebello, 6-Baljit Singh Sahni, 7-Lalkamal Bhowmick, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 17-Robert Lalthlamuana, 18-Sushil Kumar Singh

UAE 22-Humaid Khasaif; 2-Lashkari Ibrahim Ahmad (90' 6-Juma Al Saadi), 3-Murad Yousuf, 5-Abdulla Husain Alhammadi (88' 18-Faraj Abdalla), 7-Mohamed Al Wehaibi, 8-Hamdan Al Kamali, 9-Mohammed Al Shehhi, 11-Mubarak Alunaibi (76' 20-Salem Al Rejaibi), 15-Ismail Alhammadi, 16-Mubarak Ghanim, 17-Jaber Al Hammadi
Substitutes: 1-Majid Altawila Alsuwaidi, 12-Mohamed Alhosani, 4-Hamdan Al Hamdani, 10-Khamis Al Saadi, 13-Ahmed Husain Al Musabi, 14-Farhan Alfalasi, 19-Ahmad Ali Gharib, 23-Anbar Mubarak Alaraimi

Officials
Referee: Abdul Malik bin Abdul Bashir (Singapore)
Assistant Referees: Tang Yew Mun (Singapore), Lee Tzu Liang (Singapore)
4th Official: Loew Thiam Hoe (Singapore)

India have a mountain to climb against the UAE

India go into the second-leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away qualifier against the United Arab Emirates at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi tomorrow with a 0-3 deficit. The UAE were favoured to go through when we went into this tie, now it is even more likely with India having to score at least three goals to get into extra-time and if they concede it is nearly over.

India will have to forget what had happened on Saturday at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain City. In only four minutes left back Debabrata Roy and goalkeeper Subrata Pal were send off by the Qatari referee, but India only conceded one goal from open play in the 60 plus minutes with nine men. That is an achievement in itself, but India will tomorrow will have to push for an early goal and ensure that they don't concede early. One UAE goal and India have to score five and that looks unlikely.

It's surely Advantage UAE, then they go with a three-goal cushion into the tie, which by Team India Coach Armando Colaco's confession "is hard to overturn."

Nevertheless, as Armando Colaco pointed out, "India have little option but to go all out in the second-leg."

And added, "We need to attack but our defence needs to stay composed. At any stage, we can never afford to concede."

Armando will have to make forced changes. Karanjit Singh will replace Subrata Pal in goal, Syed Rahim Nabi moves into the left back position while Clifford Miranda takes his position on the left wing. Sandip Nandy and Harmanjot Singh Khabra will be the replacements for the two suspended players in the squad.

"It's a tough mountain to climb," Colaco maintained. "They are a quality side. But we are ready for the challenge," he said. Captain Climax Lawrence added, "Everything is possible in football." The fans will surely take inspiration from Climax's statement for sure and news out of Delhi is the Ambedkar Stadium could see a full house.

The UAE's Slovenian Coach Srecko Katanec said they stay aware of "India's style of play."

"I am aware they would hit us hard in the first 15 minutes. But sustaining the same momentum is tough in modern football."

In the meantime, the recent downpour in the Capital prompts everyone to look upto the skies. Forecasts suggest the heavens may open up again on Thursday, something which Arab teams don't like as they aren't used to Monsoon conditions in the desert.

The match will be live on TenAction+ with their coverage starting at 18.30 IST, while Bengali channel 24 Ghanta will also broadcast the match live which kicks-off at 19.00 IST.


Likely INDIA Starting XI

23-Karanjit Singh; 16-Samir Naik, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 3-Raju Eknath Gaekwad, 22-Syed Rahim Nabi; 23-Steven Benedic Dias, 8-Climax Lawrence, 30-Mehtab Hussain, 15-Clifford Miranda; 10-Jeje Lalpekhlua, 11-Sunil Chhetri

New Delhi: Go & support Team India!

On Thursday, July 28 the Ambedkar Stadium will host the return-leg of the India vs United Arab Emirates encounter in the second Round of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. India go into the tie with a 3-0 deficit and the boys will need all possible support they can get to try and turn around things.

Some work has been carried out by the authorities to make the venue conform with basic FIFA regulations. As such the Ambedkar Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Team India over the last few years. India won the 2007 and 2009 Nehru Cup as well as the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium with players always speaking about the great crowd support.

The tickets for the match have been priced at Rs 30 and Rs 100. The tickets went on sale yesterday at the Ambedkar Stadium and are available from 10 am to 5 pm.

The AIFF has decided to allow Free Entry from Gate No. 1 to all Delhi Soccer Association registered members and former players plus also Delhi/NCR school students (all need to bring prove of identity).

The match on Thursday will be played under floodlights and kick-off will be at 19.00 IST. The game will be telecast live on TenAction+ and 24Ghanta.

But those of you who live in Delhi/NCR and can make, do go across to the stadium and support Team India.

VIDEO: UAE goals against India

The United Arab Emirates beat India 3-0 in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Al Ain last night. Here you have a chance to see the two situations due to which Debabrata Roy and Subrata Pal were given marching orders by the Qatari referee Banjar Al-Dosari and also the three goals that the UAE scored against India.

Then you can make up your own mind about the referees decisions. Was he right or wrong...


Here you can see the clip of all the three goals plus the situations leading to the two penalties

UAE beat nine man India, referee kills match for India

The United Arab Emirates beat a nine man India 3-0 in the first-leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away qualifier at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain City tonight. First left back Debabrata Roy and then goalkeeper were handed marching orders by the 23rd minute, but India fought on and denied the UAE a big win.

This 3-0 loss leaves India a mountain to climb if they are to stay in contention for a place in the next round of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The return-leg will be played on July 28 at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi.

India looked tense early on with the UAE putting constant pressure on the Indian backline, but they kept the sheet clean in the opening minutes, then came the four minutes of madness from the Qatari referee Banjar Al-Dosari who ended India's campaign in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

In the 19th minute Debabrata Roy clumsily grabbed hold of UAE striker Mohammed Al Shehhi, who fell inside the box while Subrata Pal collected the ball. Debu's action wasn't at all needed. The referee blew the whistle for a sure shot penalty but then red carded Debabrata which shocked the India players, then the Dempo defender had brought down the player but it wasn't a 100% chance. The UAE's Hamdan Al Kamali walked up to take the penalty and placed the ball to left of Subrata, who dived in the right direction but couldn't get to the ball.

Then came the 23rd minute. After a free-kick for the UAE Subrata collects the ball and puts his knee up to shield himself against a charging Ismail Alhammadi, it seems there was contact, but Alhammadi goes down as if he had been hit really badly. Replays show that Subrata might have had minimal side-way contact with Alhammadi if any at all. Referee Al-Dosari pulls out another red with even more shock on the faces of the Indian players. At this stage it seems India could walk out of the tie and the AFC match commissioner Jun-Young Kim from South Korea has to intervene to avoid more damage as the first shock turns into anger against the referee.

India are now down to nine men, to face a penalty as Karanjit Singh gets ready for his India debut as he replaces Steven Dias. The Punjabi from champions Salgaocar SC would have surely liked a more calm surroundings to come in and not directly face a penalty. After more then six minutes the match continues as Mohammed Al Shehhi scores in the 29th minute.

India has to change formation with two players less on the field. Syed Rahim Nabi takes Debabrata Roy's place as left back, while Sunil Chhetri falls back into midfield and Jeje Lalpekhlua stays upfront in a 4-3-1 formation. It now seems India could be in for a trashing, but the UAE themselves seem shocked at what had happened infront of their eyes as they are unable to really put Karanjit in real trouble in the remaining minutes of the first half.

After the break the aim of India remains the same to keep the scoreline as decent as possible and maybe get a crucial away goal to keep the two-legged tie competitive. India's first chance comes of a Sunil Chhetri shot in the 50th minute but no worries to UAE keeper Khasaif. Armando Colaco then took off an aggressive Mehtab Hussain in the 57th minute for young Jewel Raja to avoid another possible expulsion as keeper Karanjit Singh grew in stature as the match went on with the UAE putting pressure on India but rarely did they have quality chances.

In the end the UAE did add one more goal in the 81st minute to the tally when Ismail Alhammadi scored by beating the Indian defence and keeper Karanjit. It ended 3-0 for the UAE and the two sides meet again on Thursday in Delhi. The India players will most likely ask themselves what would have been possible without the two expulsions.


MATCH STATS

United Arab Emirates 3-0 (2-0) INDIA - Goals: 1-0 Hamdan Al Kamali (21'), 2-0 Mohammed Al Shehhi (29'), 3-0 Ismail Alhammadi (81').

Red Cards: Debabrata Roy (19'), Subrata Pal (23')

UAE 22-Humaid Khasaif; 3-Murad Yousuf, 5-Abdulla Husain Alhammadi, 7-Mohamed Al Wehaibi (55' 13-Ahmed Husain Al Musabi), 8-Hamdan Al Kamali, 9-Mohammed Al Shehhi (69' 23-Anbar Mubarak Alaraimi), 11-Mubarak Alunaibi (88' 10-Khamis Al Saadi), 15-Ismail Alhammadi, 16-Mubarak Ghanim, 17-Jaber Al Hammadi, 19-Ahmad Ali Gharib
Substitutes: 1-Majid Altawila Alsuwaidi, 12-Mohamed Alhosani, 4-Hamdan Al Hamdani, 6-Juma Al Saadi, 14-Farhan Alfalasi, 18-Faraj Abdalla, 20-Salem Al Rejaibi

INDIA 1-Subrata Pal; 16-Samir Naik, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 3-Raju Eknath Gaekwad, 2-Debabrata Roy; 12-Steven Benedic Dias (28' 23-Karanjit Singh), 8-Climax Lawrence [C], 21-Mehtab Hussain (57' 13-Jewel Raja Sheikh), 9-Syed Rahim Nabi; 10-Jeje Lalpekhlua, 11-Sunil Chhetri (84' 20-Lalrindika Ralte)
Substitutes: 22-Laxmikant Kattimani, 4-Rowilson Rodrigues, 5-Valeriano Rebello, 6-Baljit Singh Sahni, 7-Lalkamal Bhowmick, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 15-Clifford Miranda, 17-Robert Lalthlamuana, 18-Sushil Kumar Singh

Officials
Referee: Banjar Mohammed B.J. Al-Dosari (Qatar)
Assistant Referees: Hassan Rashid H.R. Althawadi (Qatar), Ramzan Saeed M.F. Al-Ramazani (Qatar)
4th Official: Khamis Mohammed S.A. Al Marri (Qatar)

VIDEO: The scandalous Subrata Pal send-off

India were beaten 3-0 by the United Arab Emirates in their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 qualifier first-leg at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain City tonight.

India didn't play well at the start and were under pressure, but the match refereeing has to be questioned. In only four minutes left back Debabrata Roy and goalkeeper Subrata Pal were send off, while the UAE got two penalties which they scored.

Especially the red card for Subrata Pal seems to be a non-starter then Subrata doesn't seem to have any contact with the UAE striker. See the reactions afterwards, follow the commentary even if you do not understand Arab and make up your own mind.


Here the link to the video

April 8, 2001: The Day India beat the UAE

Tonight India start their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Round 2 at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain City. It is a home-and-away tie so after the return-leg on July 28 in New Delhi we will know for which team the dream to play in Brazil in three years time will be over and for whom it continues. Hopefully it continues for our boys.

But before tonight's match I would like to look back at the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier on April 8, 2001 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. I was in Kolkata at the time of the match with my friend Anthony Jai from London on some work. Short notice we decided to fly across to Bangalore to watch the game live.

The night before the game we landed in Bangalore, went straight to the team hotel to meet coach Sukhvinder Singh and his boys to wish them luck, also meet some of the AIFF officials present. There was a certain excitement within the team. One could feel that the boys believed to be capable to cause an upset, a positive change which I saw come through the first of the three England tours in July 2000.

Match day started early for us with breakfast, a tour of Bangalore city and an early lunch in town with my friend the late Noel da Lima Leitao. We had met the year earlier in London at Craven Cottage where India had played Fulham FC, so besides the upcoming match that game was also a big topic of discussion on that day. We had a great laugh. We all were of the same opinion that the matches against FC Fulham and West Bromwich Albion had done a world of good to the psychology of our players, who didn't go into a game fearing with how many goals would we lose.

We made our way across to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium with our VIP tickets. We had gotten those from then AIFF honorary secretary Alberto Colaco the night earlier at the hotel. Actually I wasn't working that day officially, I only wanted to watch and enjoy the game. Which I did!

There was quite a crowd around and then inside the stadium. Figures of how many people where at the ground varied from 20,000 to 40,000. My personal guess would have been around 25,000 spectators. A solid crowd for Bangalore, where football in those days wasn't amongst the peoples favourites with Cricket stars like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath playing for India.

It was great to see the crowd support Team India as they did. It was an even game, actually of the ball in favour of India and then came the 72nd minute when I.M. Vijayan took a throw-in, Baichung Bhutia didn't really get to the ball but Jules Alberto was there to place the ball into the net.

What joy! What a moment, India had taken the lead. Until the end it was about keeping the lead and the defence of Surkumar Singh, Deepak Mondal, Mahesh Gawli and K.V. Dhanesh put in a lot of effort along with all other players to keep the 1-0 intact.

After the Chinese referee blew the final whistle it was party time. India ranked 124th had beaten the 64th ranked UAE coached by the great French coach Henri Michel. What an afternoon in Bangalore.

After the match met coach Sukhvinder Singh, the players, officials and journalist friends. We all thought that a new era in Indian football would start that day, sadly India couldn't beat Yemen once in two matches though India should have won at least one of the two matches.

That evening we had great dinner, continued to talk football and I had a very pleasant sleep before going back to the team hotel the next morning. The hotel had made a special cake for the team congratulating them on the win and even Rahul Dravid dropped by to congratulate the footballers.

April 8, 2001 will surely be a day to remember in Indian football. Lets hope the boys tonight can get a good first-leg result for the home match on July 28 at Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium.


INDIA XI on April 8, 2001
Virender Singh, Irungbam Surkumar Singh, Deepak Mondal, Mahesh Gawli, KV Dhanesh, Jules Alberto (Noel Anthony Wilson), Joe Paul Ancheri (R.P. Singh), Khalid Jamil, Potsangbam Renedy Singh, RC Prakash (I.M. Vijayan), Baichung Bhutia

Team India: Climax to captain, final 23 announced

Interim coach Armando Colaco has named Climax Lawrence as captain and finalised his 23 players squad for the first-leg of the 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away qualifier against the United Arab Emirates at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain City tomorrow.

In his third match in-charge Armando Colaco has named his third captain after Subrata Pal and Sunil Chhetri were captains in the friendlies against the Maldives and Qatar. This time it is his Dempo SC midfielder Climax Lawrence who will lead India onto the field.

The follow seven players had to be left out of the final 23 player squad Sandip Nandy, Denzil Franco, Rakesh Masih, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Shilton D'Silva, Peter Carvalho and C.S. Sabeeth.


INDIA
(clubs mentioned from the old season)

Goalkeepers
Subrata Pal (Pune FC), Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar SC), Laxmikant Kattimani (Dempo SC)

Defenders
Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers SC), Robert Lalthlamuana (Churchill Brothers SC), Rowilson Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers SC), Raju Eknath Gaikwad (Indian Arrows), Valeriano Rebello (Dempo SC), Debabrata Roy (Dempo SC), Sameer Naik (Dempo SC), Mahesh Gawli (Dempo SC)

Midfielders
Mehtab Hossain (East Bengal Club), Syed Rahim Nabi (East Bengal Club), Steven Benedic Dias (Churchill Brothers SC), Jewel Raja Sheikh (Indian Arrows), Lalrindika Ralte (Indian Arrows), Climax Lawrence (Dempo SC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Lalkamal Bhowmick (United SC)

Forwards
Sunil Chhetri (United SC), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Indian Arrows), Sushil Kumar Singh (East Bengal Club), Baljit Singh Sahni (East Bengal Club)

Officials
Armando Colaco (Chief Coach), Savio Medeira (Assistant Coach), Marcus Pacheco (Goalkeeping Coach)

India ready to take on UAE in World Cup qualifiers

The United Arab Emirates are set to host India in the first-leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away qualifier on Saturday at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain City. If one goes by the FIFA world rankings then the Middle Eastern side are favourites, 110th vs 147th; but the charm of football as the beautiful game is its unpredictability so it is a 50-50 chance for both sides to progress to the Asian group stage.

Both teams come into this game with a positive frame of mind, then both sides won their final international friendly last Sunday. The UAE trashed Lebanon 7-2 at Al Ain, while India scored a 2-1 upset win against Qatar in Doha.

Still the UAE go into the tie as the favourites and an Indian win would be seen as a major upset though a decade back on April 8, 2001 India had beaten the UAE in Bangalore on home soil 1-0 in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier, but India lost the away tie thereafter 1-0 and the UAE would move into the final Asian round from the group stage.

Talking about the chances of his team India coach Armando Colaco said, "UAE surely have the advantage but my boys are up for the challenge. They are really playing good football at the moment."

"Every game we played was a great learning experience. This is a new team and it's a good build up for the future. The boys are eager to play and give out their best," Armando added speaking about the 1-1 draw against the Maldives and the 2-1 win against Qatar.

"The boys are really putting up a lot of effort in this progress. I am sure they will rise to the occasion," Armando further said.

Armando takes a lot of promise from the surprise 2-1 win against Qatar, who are similar in style and strength to the UAE; which was a rare win for an Indian side against Middle Eastern opposition in recent times.

Meanwhile UAE coach Srecko Katanec in careful, "The Indian team plays aggressive football. I don't expect an easy match, their result against Qatar was a good one for them and it speaks itself."

One can only hope that India isn't carried away by their win against Qatar last Sunday and is brought crashing down to earth by the UAE. In their last friendly in November 2010 India had lost 0-5 against the UAE and that could be also on the mind of both sides though India is a changed formation compared to last year.

The match will be live on TenAction+ with their coverage starting at 21.25 IST, while Bengali channel 24 Ghanta will also broadcast the match live.


Likely INDIA Starting XI

1-Subrata Pal; 16-Samir Naik, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 3-Raju Eknath Gaekwad, 2-Debabrata Roy; 23-Steven Benedic Dias, 8-Climax Lawrence, 30-Mehtab Hussain, 22-Syed Rahim Nabi; 10-Jeje Lalpekhlua, 11-Sunil Chhetri

VIDEO: Scandalous UAE backheel penalty

The United Arab Emirates prepared for their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 home-and-away tie against India with a friendly against Lebanon yesterday. The UAE trashed Lebanon 7-2, but the talk of the game was the backheel penalty taken by the UAE winger Thiyab Awana which infuriated the Lebanese. Even his own coach was embarrassed by such an action that Srecko Katanec took off Awana after the penalty.

Afterwards Katanec talked about respect for your opponent and that is what football is all about, but Awana is not only being criticized as some found his penalty 'cool' and 'awesome'.

What do you think? What's your opinion on the backheel penalty?

Here the video of the UAE penalty

Team India leave country on 2014 FIFA World Cup journey

After finishing their preparatory camp in the capital New Delhi India yesterday shifted their base for a day to Bangalore ahead of their flight today to the Maldives capital Male. It starts a journey which will take India not only to Male, but also to the Qatari capital Doha and then Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates before returning home to Delhi later this month.

On Sunday India face the Maldives in an international friendly, the first official match in-charge for interim coach Armando Colaco. Armando has taken a squad of 30 players along and he is satisfied with the preparations so far. "I'm happy with the progress so far. I have certain plans and hope to execute them on the field," he said. "The boys have adjusted well to the style and are raring to go."

Thereafter India fly to Doha where a match against Qatar will be played on July 17. The match is of utmost importance then the Qataris and the UAE play a similar brand of football, so Armando can test a few things in the match.

Then there is also talk about an additional friendly set to be organised while in Doha with central Asian sides Tajikistan and Kazakhstan having been mentioned as possible opponents.

After Doha India fly to Al Ain to face the United Arab Emirates in the first-leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 qualifier on July 23. For the two World Cup qualifiers Armando will have to name a 23 member squad with seven players set to be kept out of the squad. India return to Delhi after the UAE match to prepare for the return leg on July 28 in Delhi.

One thing which Armando still has to do is name a captain with his Dempo seniors Mahesh Gawli and Climax Lawrence the likely candidates. "For the two Friendly matches, we may have two different captains," Armando informed, adding, "However, for the World Cup qualifier, we will have the same captain for the two legs but I'm yet to decide on that."