United Arab Emirates hits India for a six

After Mabkhout’s hat-trick, Lima’s brace and Ibrahim’s strike complete the rout

India suffered an embarrassing 0-6 rout at the hands of formidable United Arab Emirates — its heaviest defeat against the Gulf side — in the second international football friendly here on Monday.

India had suffered a 5-0 loss in an international friendly against the UAE in 2010 in Abu Dhabi.

Igor Stimac’s side did not even have a single shot on target in what was a forgettable encounter.. Striker Ali Mabkhout performed a hat-trick with goals in the 12th, 32nd and 60th minutes while Khalil Ibrahim (64th) and Fabio Lima (71st and 84th) completed the tally.

India had given a good account of themselves in its first friendly match against Oman on March 25 with an impressive 1-1 draw, but against the UAE, it was clueless as to how to hold the ball, stitch together passes and create chances.

The gulf in class and technical superiority were all too apparent, though India was without their talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri, recovering from the COVID-19 infection. Key defender Sandesh Jhingan was also rested as Stimac experimented with new players from his jumbo 27-member squad. UAE had 67% possession compared to India’s 33 in the first half. Mabkhout chipped one over the Indian goalkeeper and captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu before scoring from the spot after Adil Khan had handled the ball inside the box.

After Mabkhout completed his hat-trick at the hour-mark, Ibrahim made a fine finish with a first-time shot in the 64th minute before Lima added two goals in the 71st and 84th minutes.

India’s only noteworthy move came just before half-time when Liston Colaco, who made his debut, found Manvir Singh with a superb through ball but the striker’s shot was blocked by the onrushing UAE ’keeper.

The result: UAE 6 (Mabkhout 12, 32 & 60, Ibrahim 64, Lima 71 & 84) bt India 0.

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