India began their historic World Cup journey with a 3-0 defeat against the United States at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. However, India did put up a great fight against a much superior side, fighting till the very end in front of 46,00 plus fans but in the end, the oppositions quality was too much for the Colts.
The US dominated the match from the very beginning, creating a lot of scoring chances but Indian goalkeeper should his ground denied the Americans on a couple of occasions. The Blue Colts’ resistance was broken down on the half-hour mark as star man Josh Sargent calmly slotted home the penalty.
India defended very well for larger part of the first half, organised and clearing off the danger, but the Blue Colts were finding hard to get their passing going on in the final third and managed only a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes. The second half began with India looking to make some early in-roads and make their presence felt along with the 40,000 plus people at the stadium.
But the Americans quickly regained the control of the game and grabbed the second goal of the via Cris Durkin, whose shot was deflected past the brilliant Indian keeper. The hosts found it hard to get out of their defensive shape with the USA enjoying the lion’s share of the possession throughout the game.
India saw more of the ball in the second half and looked sharp in the closing minute of the game and created few chances for themselves but in the 82nd minute Anwar Ali’s shot hit the woodwork and the American launched a quick counter, carving the Indian defence open to make it 3-0.
The USA was clearly the better of the two teams, dominating throughout the game in front of an enthusiastic crowd giving full support to India despite their loss. In the end, the match was not about the result for India but about the 90 minutes of play in a FIFA World Cup, something that has never been experienced by the country.