Iraq defeats India 5-4 on penalties in the 2023 Kings Cup semifinal

After a 2-2 deadlock after ordinary time on Thursday, the Iraqi team defeated the Blue Tigers on penalties to eliminate Team India from the invitation-only Kings Cup 2023 competition in Thailand.

Abdul Sahal Samad, who threaded a beautiful pass in after his leisurely run, sent Mahesh Singh into the danger area, where he smashed the goal with a first-time attempt to give India the early lead.

But Sandesh Jhingan gave up the first of the game’s two penalties after the Indian defender’s hands were struck by the ball as it entered the penalty area. Karim Ali of Iraq scored flawlessly from the penalty spot, outclassing Gurpreet Singh of India, who made the correct judgment but was unable to stop the ball.

At one goal each, the teams were deadlocked going into the half.

After the break, Akash Mishra’s unimpressive effort was met by a mistake by Iraqi goalkeeper Hasan, who deflected the ball into his net. This allowed India to regain the lead in the match.

The Iraqis worked tirelessly to get a second equalizer, and their efforts paid off in the 80th minute of play when India buckled under the constant pressure and gave up yet another penalty to Jhingan.

This time, Ghadhban was the one to come up and take the penalty, which he confidently put into the back of the net to make the score even.

Zidane Iqbal, a Manchester United product who plays for Iraq, was given a straight red as the Lions of Mesopotamia momentarily went down to 10 men before the game ended, adding one more twist before the game could go into the penalty tiebreaks.

In the end, however, Iraq prevailed over India 5-4 on penalties as the Lions of Mesopotamia managed to score on all five of their attempts, compared to India’s four successful attempts and Fernandes’ single miss for the men in blue.