India falter against blitzing Malaysia; bow out of Merdeka Cup 2023 after controversial refereeing decisions

In a match impregnated with a couple of controversial refereeing decisions, including a soft penalty and a wrongly disallowed goal, the Indian men's national team suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of hosts Malaysia at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Friday.

An early goal from the opposition left the Indians stunned, but they reciprocated with a stunning strike from Naorem Mahesh Singh. But Malaysia reclaimed the lead through a contentious penalty call and then doubled their lead just before the half-time whistle.

After the break, talismanic forward Sunil Chhetri did manage to pull one back, but Corbin Lawrence's goal provided a cushion for the home side to carry on into the final whistle.

Although the Blue Tigers held the superiority going by the FIFA rankings, the feisty start to the encounter was largely dominated by the hosts. Sahal Abdul Samad rattled the crossbar with an early attempt in the second minute itself but Malaysia pulled ahead soon after. Endrick whipped in a cross into the box from a corner situation in the seventh minute, and a lobbed header from Nooa Hamza found Dionjohan Cools on the far post.

Cools kept his composure in the face of the on-rushing Indian defenders and thumped the ball into the back of the net with a precise side volley. The visitors were left stunned but reacted with great panache. Nikhil Poojary made a darting run down the right flank before his cross into the first post was cheekily flicked into the path of Naorem Mahesh Singh, who smashed it past the helpless keeper with a humdinger of a volley.

But the Bengaluru FC duo of Rohit Kumar and Suresh Singh Wangjam just couldn't control the proceedings in the middle of the park, and Malaysia were all over them. In the 19th minute, the Harimau Malaya were gifted a penalty when Poojary clipped the heels of Darren Lok inside the Indian box. The referee pointed to the spot without any hesitation.

Arif Aiman stepped up to take the spot-kick and converted it with ease. Chances continued to present themselves for the home side as exhilarating pressing from Malaysia gave no breathing space to the Blue Tigers. A gilt-edged opportunity popped up for Kim Pan-gon's men when Arif dislodged the ball off Sandesh Jhingan in the 30th minute. The 21-year-old was through on goal and even had the option to square the ball to his unmarked teammate, but ultimately scuffed his effort wide.

But just before the half-time whistle, Malaysia salvaged their wasted chances when another tenacious pressing from them forced an error from Mehtab Singh, and Arif, who had been the most potent attacker for the hosts, drilled the ball towards Faisal Halim. The latter slotted it past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and the hosts went into the break with a 3-1 lead.

---

Early goal, controversial refereeing, and the kiss of the woodwork define the second half between India and Malaysia

The frailties of the Indian defense were in clear limelight during the first half and Igor Stimac had a clear task of tightening the gaps. Even after the break, the Malayan Tigers continued their incessant pressing but Sunil Chhetri managed to pull a goal back for the visitors.

Naorem Mahesh Singh was the creator-in-chief as he drilled in an inch-perfect cross from the left for Lallianzuala Chhangte on the other flank. The Mumbai City FC winger nudged the ball in the path of Chhetri, who tapped it in.

The celebrations were muted as the team knew that there was still a staggering climb left to be done. With a comeback within their reach, the Blue Tigers transformed into a rejuvenated outfit and would've restored parity in the 57th minute, if not for a controversial decision from the linesman.

Chhangte was sent through goal and his effort crept under the keeper and had seemingly crossed the line Cools cleared it. While the Indian players incessantly appealed that the ball had crossed the line, the referee deemed otherwise. With no goal-line technology available the goal didn't stand but the replays showed the ball indeed went inside.

A fuming Igor Stimac and his men had all the reason to feel hard done by but their sorrows were further aggravated Corbin Lawrence made it 4-2 for the Harimau Malaya. Both sides opted for a few substitutions, with India most notably bringing off Chhetri for Liston Colaco. The charge from India continued in the hope of a goal or two but the closest they came was when Chhangte struck the post yet again.

As the referee blew the final whistle after five minutes of additional time, the Blue Tigers slumped to a defeat and were knocked out of the tournament. While their abysmal defending in phases played a massive role in the disappointing result, Igor Stimac and his men will find it difficult to look past the sub-par refereeing throughout the night.