India U-17 World Cup squad loses 0-1 against Tajikistan

The Indian U-17 World Cup squad lost 0-1 to Tajikistan in a play-off match in the Granatkin Memorial Cup in Moscow today.
The Granatkin Memorial Cup that featured 16 teams from across the world saw India finish last with only one win in five matches.
In a drab first half, both teams failed to test each other's custodians even once and played a cautiously. While India tried to dominate possession and wasted chances, Tajikistan resorted to counter attacks, which were easily tackled by the Indian defence.
With neither side able to take control of the match, both went into the half-time at 0-0.

In the 59th minute, Tajikistan were reduced to 10 men when their captain was red carded for a rash foul. Playing a man down, Tajikistan deployed men into defence and made it hard for the Indian colts to create a clear goal scoring chance.
Head coach Nicolai Adam made his first change in the 66th minute when he replaced Joysana with Shubham to up the ante. However, it was Tajikistan who struck against the run of play and in the 80th minute took a solitary goal lead.
The Indian colts tried hard and pressed for an equaliser but failed to get past the Tajik defence.