Only two teams out of the eight playing in the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup were placed below India on the FIFA Rankings. And yet, quite incredibly, India have finished as high as third and it was sealed with a victory on penalties (1-1 in full time, 3-2 in spot-kicks) against Oman with the match pretty much summing up how they have performed in Khalid Jamil’s first assignment as their head coach.
As was the case throughout the tournament, there were moments in this match on Monday at the Hisor Central Stadium in Hisor, Tajikistan, that showed just how difficult India can be to score against, their knack for capitalising on chaos in the opposition box and how toothless they are in attack.
India had been criticised for being a bit too defensive against the much lower-ranked Afghanistan in their last match, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Jamil seemed to have responded by starting Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Pratap Singh in place of the slightly less incisive Ashique Kuruniyan and Jithin; although it has to be noted that Kuruniyan was suspended after picking two yellow cards in the group stage.
HISTORIC BRONZE FOR INDIA??????
The Blue Tigers held their nerve in a nail-biting shootout, beating Oman 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 clash.#INDOMA #BlueTigers #CAFANationsCup2025 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/v2Jc6DUysm
— FanCode (@FanCode) September 8, 2025
Pretty early on, though, another aspect typical to Indian football crept its ugly head up – indecisiveness in the final third of the opposition half. Chhangte worked the ball towards Mahesh Singh Naorem after nutmegging his Omani marker. Mahesh had Vikram Partap Singh at the edge of the box down the left in acres of space but he ended up going to his right, where the only ones standing were a couple of opposition defenders.
Chance squandered
Then came a chance to capitalise on some panic inside the opposition box. Muhammad Uvais, whose long throws into the box have themselves become set-piece routine for India, was not cleared properly by Oman. Anwar Ali managed to get a vicious header towards the Oman goalkeeper’s right and the latter managed to keep it out.
India didn’t have Sandesh Jhingan in this match, with the talismanic defender returning home with a fractured cheekbone that he sustained during that 2-1 win against Tajikistan. Whether his absence was the trigger or not remains unclear but gaps in communication started appearing between the centre-back pairing of Anwar and Rahul Bheke and goalkeeper Sandhu. Oman almost capitalised on it right before the end of the first half hour, with Ahmed Al-Rawahi’s shot going just wide.
And finally, India’s toothlessness up front led to them going into half-time without a goal, when it could have so easily been otherwise. Chhangte charged down the left and cut back to pick Irfan Yadwad brilliantly. The ball came kindly to Yadwad’s feet, he had no pressure at all from any opposition defender and all he had to do was tap it in. He fluffed it.
Sandhu has the final say
Carlos Queiroz, former assistant manager to the legendary Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, is head coach of Oman. He seemed to have given his wards a taste of Ferguson’s infamous “hairdryer” treatment as he came out with as many as four half-time changes, and Oman with all guns blazing. Those substitutes combined and left India standing as Jameel Al Yahmadi scored in the 55th minute to give Oman the lead.
India right back in it ??
Udanta’s diving header brings the Blue Tigers level after a clever flick from the long throw-in ??????#INDOMA #BlueTigers #CAFANationsCup2025 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/sZTwiDNx4y
— FanCode (@FanCode) September 8, 2025
India, surprisingly, didn’t really go into a shell though. With about 10 minutes of regular time left, Jamil brought on Udanta Singh and Suresh Singh Wangjam. Udanta has been a bit of a forgotten figure of late in Indian football. Well, he made sure that his contribution in this match won’t be forgotten even as a late substitution, scoring the equaliser for India in the 78th minute with a header. Udanta created another opportunity in injury time, playing substitute Manvir Singh through with an aerial poke, but it was dealt with by the Oman defence as the match went into extra time.
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Oman’s Ali Al-Busaidi ended up getting a red card pretty early on in it, which resulted in the unusual sight of India hogging possession and Oman sitting back, trying not to concede. The latter were more adventurous in the second half of extra time but it all came to nought. In the ensuing penalty shootout, India shot to a 2-0 lead with Oman’s first two attempts missing Sandhu’s goal. Oman goalkeeper Al Mukhaini’s save off Anwar’s spot-kick, and Udanta’s miss brought them back into the contest.
Fittingly, it was Sandhu who had the final say. He has been the base of India’s defensive solidity throughout this tournament which has been central to how Jamil has arranged his players. Al Yahmadi, who had given Oman the lead, took the final kick and Sandhu dove the right way to keep it out.
