India lose again, this time to Oman

Muscat, October 13

India suffered their fifth consecutive defeat in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers when they lost 0-3 to Oman here on Tuesday. World No.167 India have now lost all their five matches so far to be rooted at the bottom of Group D.

Ahmed Kano broke the deadlock in the 55th minute before a brace from Abdul Aziz (67th, 85th) sealed the win for the hosts. Oman got several opportunities to open the scoring from a number of corner kicks in the first-half but goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu thwarted all their attempts. India came close to scoring in the first-half when skipper Sunil Chhetri’s left-footed strike fizzed over the bar.

In the 55th minute, the hosts surged ahead when Ahmed Kano tapped the ball from a close range into the net. Oman, the world No.102, doubled their lead in the 67th minute as Aziz found a plenty of space, and slotted the ball home. Aziz was once more given an incredible amount of space in the penalty area and he made the most of it by heading home his second and the team’s third goal in the 85th minute.

--Indo-Asian News Service