It was too good to last — and it didn’t. India, stepping away from the predominantly defensive approach adopted against Panama, presented a more open game and made for a lively start to their FIFA international friendly against Brazil at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
At the final whistle, the scoreline read 4-0, but the 40,000-strong crowd had plenty to cheer about despite the huge gulf in class between the two teams.
From the kick-off, the diagonals to the irrepressible Vinicius Junior kept coming, with Brazil’s lively left flank spelling danger every now and then. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had to palm away a rasping right-footer to the near post to keep the scoreline clean.
Estevao draws first blood
Brazil finally broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when Estevao feigned past a defender on the right, made space and squeezed a turf-hugging left-footer between Gurpreet and the near post. Soon after the hydration break, Pedro could have doubled the lead, but his header from a cross on the right struck the post.
Pedro did get his goal in the 42nd minute, though, working his way into the box before slotting the ball home. The Canaries were soon all over the Indians, but the hosts continued to look for openings and did manage to threaten the Brazilian defence on occasions.
Both teams made several substitutions after the break. Samuel Lino, who replaced Vinicius Junior, scored Brazil’s third in the 58th minute, shortly after Manvir Singh had found space inside the Brazilian penalty area but was denied.
Lino struck again in stoppage time, driving the ball powerfully through substitute goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill’s palms. The Indian custodian had moments earlier produced a wonderful save to deny Vanderson.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti continued his search for new talent, giving more members of his 26-man squad a run. Two debutants—goalkeeper Pedro Morisco and defender Matheuzinho—started, while by the end of the match, Ancelotti had substituted all 11 players who began the game.
The match eventually settled into a pattern, with the crowd roaring whenever India threatened. But by then, Brazil were firmly in control. India’s best chance came in the 64th minute when Ryan Williams, scorer against Panama, wrong-footed a defender and curled the ball towards goal, only for a Brazilian defender to clear it off the line.
Thapa, Samad start
India, ranked 138th in the world, had made two changes to their starting XI, with Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad, who had both come on as substitutes in last week’s 1-1 draw against Panama, replacing Vikram Pratap Singh and Ricky Shabong.
The changes brought greater attacking intent, but the Blue Tigers were ultimately unable to alter their fortunes against a Brazil side that gradually stamped its authority on the contest.