India vs North Korea, Intercontinental Cup 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: Chhetri, Chhangte Score But India Lose 2-5

Intercontinental Cup 2019 Highlights: India lose 2-5 to North Korea in their second game of the Intercontinental Cup. Sunil Chhetri scored a simple tap-in to get the score down to 2-4. Earlier, Ri Chol had scored from a tight angle, after Lallianzuala Chhangte scored India’s first. Jong Il Gwan, the North Korea skipper, scored from a freekick and the third again with a perfect header into the far corner. For the second goal, North Korea danced right through the Indian defence as Sim Hyon Ji smartly slotted the ball into the far corner. This after a rather humiliating loss to Tajikistan in their opening match at the TransStadia Arena in Ahmedabad. The encounter is crucial for both sides in their bid to enter the final after North Korea suffered a 2-5 defeat against Syria in their opening fixture.

Sunil Chhetri, who scored two goals in India’s 2-4 loss in the opening game against Tajikistan, said that the whole team was working hard to bounce back from the defeat and stressed on the importance of keeping calm. “We need to learn from all the mistakes in the Tajikistan game and try to rectify them as much as possible. Individually, as well as collectively, we are all working hard on that. The most important thing is to keep calm and put your head down and work,” he said.

“No one else is going to help you, which means we have to pick ourselves up and give a good account of ourselves against DPR Korea to churn out a positive result,” Chhetri said at the pre-match press conference.

18-year-old Amarjit Singh Kiyam, who was handed his senior team debut by coach Stimac at the King’s Cup 2019 in Thailand, mentioned that the team is “extremely focused” and added that he hopes the fans will continue to support the team as they did in the previous encounter.

He said, “The whole team is extremely focused on the match against DPR Korea. What’s done is done and we are not thinking about the loss to Tajikistan. We have been working hard so as to not repeat the mistakes we made. We want to play even better and I hope we get the support of the fans in the stadium once again.”

Centre-back Adil Khan, who made his comeback to the national team under coach Stimac, spoke about how there is a “healthy competition for places” in the side and that the main goal for the team is to do well in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

“Our ultimate aim is to do well in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The coach is looking at many players in the squad to settle on his best 11 and there is a good competition for places. For the match against DPR Korea, we are preparing well and know that we have to do our best,” he said.