Syria were crowned the Intercontinental Cup 2024 champions after beating India 3-0 at the GMC Balayogi Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday.
The Chief Minister of Telangana, A Revanth Reddy, presented the winners’ trophy to Syria. Syria captain Mahmoud Al-Mawas was named the Syed Abdul Rahim Player of the Tournament.
India spent the entire game on the chase after Mahmoud Al-Aswad scored the opener in the seventh minute. The hosts improved significantly in the second half, but a strong performance from Syrian goalkeeper Elias Hadaya prevented any sort of an Indian comeback. Finally, Daleho Irandust and Pablo Sabbag punished India on the counter and scored two more to seal a solid win for the West Asians.
India head coach Manolo Marquez made seven changes, from the line-up which was held 0-0 by Mauritius. On the other hand, José Lana rotated all 11 players from Syria’s 2-0 victory over Mauritius three days ago.
Syria were all over India right from the opening whistle as the hosts looked answerless. The visitors took the lead in the seventh minute with their first inroad into the Indian box. Daleho Irandust tiptoed his way into the box before feeding Al-Aswad, whose initial shot was blocked by Anwar Ali, but the rebound deflected off Jeakson Singh Thounaojam and fortunately fell for Al-Aswad again. The 20-year-old made no mistake and instinctively punted the ball into the roof of the net.
“I am angry with the first half. We were scared and not brave at all. We could’ve avoided the action which caused the first goal. I am satisfied with the second half. The score isn’t a real reflection of the game. We at least deserved to score. The players’ attitude and positioning was better after the break. We were braver and at least created chances. Syria have very good players. They killed us on the counter. They had many chances throughout the game,” Marquez said after the match.
“I am very happy with our performance. I’m delighted with how we did in the tournament with a young squad,” Syria head coach Jose Lana said.
