India stun Oman in penalties, finish third in CAFA Nations Cup

HISOR: In a major upset, India defeated high-ranking Oman in the CAFA Nations Cup, giving the first glimpse of head coach Khalid Jamil's football acumen. In the first tournament under Jamil’s tutelage, India grabbed third place in the CAFA Nations Cup. The game ended in a stalemate with both teams scoring each even after extra time. India won the shootout by three goals to two. Oman is ranked 79th in FIFA rankings, while India is 133rd.

Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's heroics were the catalyst for the team defeating a bigger Asian counterpart. In the second half, Oman took the lead through Jameel Al-Yahmadi's goal in the 55th minute. Udanta Singh, who came on as a substitute for India, scored the equaliser in the 80th minute. In the shootout, Laliansuwala Changte, Rahul Bheke and Malayali player Jithin MS found the target for India, while Anwar Ali and Udanta Singh missed their kicks. Oman missed the first two kicks and the last kick.

In the CAFA Nations Cup, India lost only one game, and that was to mighty Iran, ranked 20th in the world. India defeated Tajikistan and Oman and drew with Afghanistan.