India vs Iraq Highlights Football, King's Cup 2023: IRQ Defeat IND 5-4 In Penalty Shoot-Out

Iraq beat India in a penalty shoot-out 5-4 to reach the finals of the King's Cup 2023.

We are heading towards the penalty shoot-out as the scoreline stands at 2-2.

Four minutes of stoppage time added to the clock. It is 2-2 stalemate at the moment.

80' Iraq get awarded another penalty for a supposed foul by Sandesh Jhingan inside the box. Aymen Ghadhban slots it home.

IRQ 2-2 IND

FIFA+ & @EurosportIN#IRQIND #49thKingsCup2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball, — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 7, 2023

70' Substitutions for India!

Rohit Kumar, Suresh Wangjam, Rahul KP, & Brandon Fernandes
Anirudh Thapa, Mahesh Naorem, Manvir Singh, Jeakson Singh

IRQ 1-2 IND

FIFA+ & @EurosportIN#IRQIND #49thKingsCup2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball, — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 7, 2023

With India leading in the match, all the Gurpreet Singh Sandhu-led side has to do is to wait it out for some time. Iraq are already chasing the game. 

Hello and welcome to the proceedings of the second half between India and Iraq. BLUNDER!!! Heavy Blunder from Iraq's goalkeeper as India takes a lead early in the 2nd half.  

The extra two minutes added to the first half are over. This has been an excellent session of football played here at the Anniversary stadium.

Iraq has clearly picked up their speed and they are creating more and more chances in the game. India need to find a way to score to put the pressure back on Iraq. 

Courtesy of a penalty, Iran have equalised in the King's Cup semifinal. Sandesh Jhingan has got a yellow card too. 

GOAL!!! Ashique Kuruniyan nets an incredible goal. First blood to India. Iran on the chase now. 

Both teams are struggling to keep possession from one another. The contest has begun on a great start here in the Anniversary stadium. 

التشكيلة الاساسية لمنتخبنا الوطني لمواجهة نظيره الهندي ظهر اليوم الخميس في بطولة ملك تايلند. pic.twitter.com/vO0FpXrYOo, — IRAQ F.A. (@IRAQFA) September 7, 2023

Our line-up for today a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IRQIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IRQIND#49thKingsCup2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/MOHzc2sXJY, — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 7, 2023

Against the hosts, India had secured a famous 4-1 win in Abu Dhabi during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, and a 1-0 win at the 2019 King's Cup.

is all set for vs

How excited are you #IRQIND #49thKingsCup2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/8R5DAFoQ0S, — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 7, 2023

India will be without their star performer Chhetri, who has 92 international goals to his credit, but the Blue Tigers will certainly be no pushovers against one of the traditional powerhouses of Asian football.

Casas also showed respect for India. "India are not easy. We have watched their matches. They are a very good team, very organised. They know a lot of ways to attack. They can play short ball and long ball. But our target is to win this tournament and prepare for the World Cup qualifiers," Casas said.

Iraq are coached by Jesus Casas, junior to Stimac by six years and was a youth team player for Spanish side Cádiz CF, where the Croatian played for two seasons between 1992 and 1994.

"After beating Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, they are one of the clear favourites in the upcoming Asian Cup. So it's going to be very difficult for us, but I hope our boys will enjoy the game," he added.

"I hope that we're going to give everything on the pitch to do something good against a strong side like Iraq, who are Arabian Gulf Cup champions," said Stimac in the pre-match media interaction.

India's history against Iraq has not been favorable, as they have yet to defeat Iraq in six previous encounters, with four losses and two draws. Their last encounter with Iraq resulted in a 0-2 loss in a friendly match in Sharjah before the 2011 Asian Cup.

The King's Cup is a four-nation tournament, and the winners of the two round-robin matches will compete in the final. 

In the other match of the tournament, the host nation, Thailand, will face Lebanon. The two teams that lose their respective matches will compete for the bronze medal before the final on Sunday.

However, their upcoming match against Iraq poses a considerable challenge, as Iraq is ranked 29 places higher than India in FIFA rankings and is coming off a recent victory in the Arabian Gulf Cup.

Under the guidance of coach Igor Stimac, the Indian team has achieved significant success, including winning three titles, including the Tri-Nation tournament in Imphal in March. 

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the King's Cup 2023 semifinal between India and Iraq here at the Anniversary stadium at Chiang Mai in Thailand.