For Manolo Marquez, who recently became the new head coach of the Indian national team, it was an unfortunate start. He took on the role in July, but his first outing as head coach ended in disappointment.
India’s hopes of winning their third Intercontinental Cup title were dashed after they lost 0-3 to Syria in the final match of the three-nation tournament on Monday. Mahmoud Al Aswad opened the scoring in the 7th minute, and Daleho Mohsen Irandust added a second goal in the 77th minute, breaking the hearts of the home fans at the GMC Balayogi Athletics Stadium. Pablo Sabbag’s injury-time strike sealed Syria’s dominance in the game.
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The result meant that Marquez’s debut as India’s head coach, succeeding Igor Stimac, ended in a loss. Syria, who had beaten Mauritius 2-0 in their opening match, finished the tournament with a full six points. India and Mauritius ended with one point each after a goalless draw on September 3.
There was no final, and the highest-ranked team after the round-robin stage won the tournament. India, which had previously won the title in 2018 and 2023, failed to secure the trophy this time. This marked Syria’s first victory in the Intercontinental Cup, as they had finished third in 2019.
Moreover, this was the first time Syria won a tournament on Indian soil. The West Asian country has a long history of participating in tournaments in India, but a title had eluded them until now. Syria had twice lost to India in the Nehru Cup finals in 2007 and 2009, and finished fourth in 2012. During their last visit to India for the 2019 Intercontinental Cup, they finished third after a 1-1 draw with India in the group stage. In the most recent meeting between the two teams at the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar earlier this year, Syria had beaten India 1-0.
