Captain Sunil Chhetri struck in his milestone match but India lost 1-3 to higher-ranked Curacao in its opening tie of the King’s Cup football tournament in Igor Stimac’s first game under charge here on Wednesday.
Chhetri, who became the most-capped India player by surpassing Bhaichung Bhutia’s 107 international matches, scored the lone goal for his side in the 31st minute from a spot kick for his 69th goal, though it did not make any difference to the result of the match.
The 82nd-ranked Caribbean island nation, which has two players plying trade in English Premier League and some others in European leagues, scored three in the space of 18 minutes — through Roly Bonevacia (16th), Elson Hooi (18th) and Leandro Bacuna (33rd).
A sloppy first half in which India — ranked 101 — defended and attacked poorly, saw the team trailing 1-3 at the breather. The new defensive set up — with Rahul Bheke coming in as central defender — was looking out of sorts with lack of anticipation and communication.
India played a vastly improved football in the second half — which was played mostly under rain — but could not score another goal.
Stimac’s charges made at least four chances in the second half with two coming to the 34-year-old Chhetri whose first attempt hit the upright and the other — another free header — sailing over the bar.
Though high-profile Stimac, a World Cup bronze medallist and former Croatia manager, began his stint as India coach on a losing note, there were positives to be taken from the match against a more technically superior side. The Croatian gaffer gave international debuts to as many as five players, including to Under-17 World Cup captain Amarjit Singh, and the Indian side played possession football and mostly through ground passes.
Curacao dominated the first half but surprisingly India had more possession with 53% as against 47%. The second half was an even contest with India threatening to score several times and it completely dominated the final 15 minutes though another goal eluded them in the end.
The result: Curacao 3 (Roly Bonevacia 16, Elson Hooi 18, Leandro Bacuna 33) bt India 1 (Sunil Chhetri 31).
