The Indian football team kept their third-place hopes alive despite going down 0-3 to Asian powerhouse Iran in their second Group B game of the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan on Monday. After their opening win over Tajikistan, expectations were high from Khalid Jamil’s boys, but they succumbed to pressure in the second half, conceding all three goals.
From their 2-1 win over Tajikistan in the previous match, India made two changes, bringing in Danish Farooq and Nikhil Prabhu in place of Lallianzuala Chhangte and Jeakson Singh. The Indian players were resolute in the first half, with the defensive line frustrating the Iranians.
However, things changed at the stroke of an hour mark when the Indian defence failed to clear the ball into the box as Amirhossen Hosseinzadeh found the back of the net to give Iran the lead on 59 minutes. With the Indian players searching for an equaliser, Iran piled more misery. In the 89th minute, Alireza Jahanbakhsh takes a shot at the Indian goal. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who saved a penalty against Tajikistan, once again came to rescue, but the ball then ricocheted off the bar to fall in front of Ali Aliporghara. The Persepolis striker made no mistake in booting the ball into the net, thus dashing all Indian hopes.
Mehdi Taremi put the final nail in the coffin with Iran’s third goal in the sixth minute of extra time. Although the Indian team showed tremendous defensive skills, but lack of European football experience saw them lose to the defending champions.
