KOCHI: India ended their 2018 World Cup football qualifying campaign on a disappointing note as they lost to Turkmenistan 1-2 in their last group match to finish at the bottom of the heap here today.
The Indians led 1-0 at the breather with a dominating show in the first session in hot and humid conditions courtesy a Sandesh Jhingan strike, but conceded two goals in the second half to lose the Group D match at the Nehru Stadium.
Jhingan’s 27th minute header raised hopes for the Indians to end their disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign on a winning note, but they allowed Turkmenistan to come back strongly in the second half with a sloppy performance.
The visiting side, which struggled to cope with the heat and humidity in the first half, regrouped themselves in the second and pumped in two goals through Amanov Arslan (49th) and Serdaraly Atayew (70th) to collect full three points.
Turkmenistan also wasted a penalty early into the match with Arslan shooting the ball wide off the target in the 21st minute.
India ended their campaign at the bottom of the five-team Group D with just three points with a lone win over Guam in their home leg match last year. (AGENCIES)
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