Hisor (Tajikistan), Sep 1 (PTI) A gritty India fought hard for most part but let in two goals in the last seven minutes to eventually lose 0-3 to defending champions Iran in their second group match of the CAFA Nations Cup football tournament here on Monday.
The Indian defence largely remained compact and thwarted waves of Iranian attack but failed to stop strikes from Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (60th minute), Ali Alipourghara (89th) and Mehdi Taremi (90+6) to lose the match.
Iran are a formidable side, ranked 20th in the world while India are currently at 133rd in FIFA ranking.
Iranian head coach Amir Ghalenoei had come with a team that has a mix of veteran internationals and few emerging talents from the Iranian Premier League.
India had beaten higher-ranked Tajikistan 2-1 in their opening match on August 29. They play against Afghanistan on September 4 in their final group B match.
The top teams from each group will play each other in the final, while the two second-placed teams will face off in the third-place match, scheduled to be played on September 8. PTI PDS PDS AH AH
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