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Tough draw enough as India advance in World Cup qualifiers

India held a dominant Nepal to a goalless draw in their 2018 World Cup qualifying first round second leg match.

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Bhutan, ranked 209 in the world, registered only their fifth ever win when they beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in Thimpu.

India held a dominant Nepal to a goalless draw in their 2018 World Cup qualifying first round second leg match to advance to the second round with a 2-0 aggregate. India, who had beaten Nepal 2-0 in Guwahati on March 12 in the first leg, were put under pressure by the Nepalese, especially in the second half, but came out unscathed at the end at a packed Dashrath Rangasala Stadium. Indian captain and goalkeeper Subrata Paul and the back four gave a brilliant display to thwart a spirited Nepalese attack on several occasions.

Robin Singh put the ball in the Nepal net in the 57th minute but the referee disallowed the goal because of handball.
India and other five round one winners will join 34 higher-ranked teams of the continent in the second round. The 40 nations will be drawn into eight groups of five and compete in a double round robin format. The round two qualification matches will be held between June 11 and March 29 next year.

Enjoying a two-goal cushion, India appeared to play safe, and at the end it paid off. Nepal dominated the match but could not break free and that added to their frustration. They did earn a series of free-kicks in the first half and even hit the post in the 68th minute, but could not find the net.

Coach Stephen Constantine was a satisfied with the result. “It is nice to leave with a happy result. Result always matters and we achieved what we intended. We came here to win but they put us under pressure. They gave everything they had and that speaks of the character of the Nepali people,” he said at the official post-match media interaction.

However, Constantine did make a mention of the pitch which wasn’t “up to the mark”. “This is not an excuse but the pitch outside is not suitable for football. You can’t play good football on such a pitch and we were not able to play it either. The pitch on which we played in Guwahati was of very high quality,” he further stated.

Bhutan script history

Bhutan, ranked bottom in world soccer, spirited another improbable win on Tuesday to reach the second round of World Cup qualifying. Lying 209th in FIFA’s rankings, Bhutan proved last week’s 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in Colombo was no fluke with a 2-1 victory in the return leg in capital Thimpu.

The tiny nation had allowed workers to leave early to catch the game, and the Changlimithang Stadium was packed to witness the heroics. Chencho Gyeltshen set the hosts on their improbable path in the fifth minute and fired in the second at the death to ensure only a fifth ever win for his side who were once beaten 20-0 by Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2000.

Bhutan were making their debut in a World Cup qualifying campaign since joining FIFA in 2000.

Pakistan’s World Cup qualifier at home to Yemen was meanwhile postponed and will be switched to a neutral venue after Sunday’s suicide bombings at two churches killed 14 people and injured nearly 80. Their opponents had already arrived in Lahore for the match after beating Pakistan 3-1 in the first leg which was played in Doha due to security concerns in Yemen.