India have been eliminated from the Intercontinental Cup after a 3-0 defeat to Syria at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. The match was a do-or-die game for the Blue Tigers to be able to defend their title, and they were beaten by a significant margin by the better team.

The visitors were on another level throughout the game, and rarely looked vulnerable against a blunt Indian attack. They exposed the brittle defence of their opponents time and time again, and were able to score three, which could have been much more had they been more clinical.

India eliminated from Intercontinental Cup after humbling defeat to Syria

Tough end for India in the #Intercontinentalcup as they fall to Syria and wrap up the campaign! 💔#INDSYR #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/3qqAjZDl0N
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 9, 2024

Al Aswad opened the scoring early in the game after the hosts’ defence was left scrambling. The Syrian attack came into the box virtually unchallenged, and were able to score without a lot of trouble.

The same can be said for their second goal in the 76th minute as Anwar Ali failed to close the space that Irandust had, as he beat Gurpreet Singh Sandhu comfortably with all the time in the world.

Sabbag made it three for his side late in the game to end all hopes of a recovery for India as they stood defeated. Manolo Marquez’s first break in charge of the national team has been far from ideal, and the FC Goa manager has his work cut out for him after yet another sub-par performance, where the players lacked sharpness on and off the ball. However, that could change with more time to fit in and get to know the new style of play.

The new ISL season is set to start in a matter of days. And while the players on national team duty will surely have had some extra preparation, the level shown by then during these two games has not been the best. However, fans would expect things to improve as the season goes on.