China vs India Live | International Friendly

WOW! India hold the Red Dragons goalless in their first football match in China! "It's as good as a win for India," the commentators remark, but Stephen Constantine's boys could have actually won this game!
Gurpreet was clearly India's hero for making save-after-save and ensuring a clean sheet for himself. The back-four, barring Sandesh Jhingan, were unimpressive and often failed to gauge the danger from those crosses provided by the Chinese wingers, forcing Gurpreet to dive into the action.
The India strikers had few chances to score and even though the Indian midfielders split up the defence with some testing passes, the conversion of those chances into goals was difficult indeed.
Nevertheless, Stephen Constantine can smile and India can relish this draw for a long time.
And here's Aravind Suchindran hoping you had a great game and enjoyed our coverage.

90+6' UFF! Gurpreet, oh paaji! Thank you, thank you.
The towering goalkeeper first drifts the ball away with his leg and then jabs the ball to stop another cross before the ref blows the full-time whistle. Tense final moments for India but they hold on to manage a draw!

90+3' CHANCE FOR INDIA! Nikhil fires a flat through-ball between the two Chinese central defenders and Farukh Choudhary tries to tap it in. Yan Junling gloves it away and India have a coner.

90+1' Rowllin struck a late goal for NorthEast United FC in the 89th minute and he's brought into this match in added time for Anirudh Thapa.
OFF - Anirudh Thapa (7)
ON - Rowllin Borges (17)

90' We're into added time and we'll have five minutes of that. India enjoying a good share of possession at this time but are not pushing forward.

88' China push all their men up front, hoping to do the one thing they just haven't been able to throughout the match - beat Gurpreet. Boy, what a performance by the Bengaluru FC goalkeeper!

86' Can anyone keep track of how many times Gurpreet has stood tall for India at the goal?
This time, he takes it easy and even lets the Chinese shoot into the goal.
Oh wait, the ref signaled a hand-ball by Yu Hai before the shot.

83' Fresh blood in the midfield. The fourth change for India is Delhi Dynamos' Vinit Rai, who replaces Pronay Halder.
OFF - Pronay Halder (14)
ON - Vinit Rai (8)

83' Substitute Nikhil Poojary is booked for disrupting play. He stands in the way of a Chinese player and blocks the free-kick, prompting the ref to show the yellow.

79' China make another substitution.
OFF - Li Xuepeng (3)
ON - Fan Xiaodong (17)

79' Third change for India as a young striker comes in place of Jeje.
OFF - Jeje Lalpekhlua (12)
ON - Farukh Choudhary (29)

77' GOALLINE MELEE! Yu Hai is right in front of the goalline after Anas Edathodika's overhead-kick clearance bounces off a Chinese player. He pokes the ball inward but Gurpreet keeps it out after which the Indian defenders thwart the danger away.

75' AN OUTREACH! Gurpreet dodges a bullet with some quick reflexes. A strong right to stop the header from Wu Lei!

70' A CROSSBAR CHALLENGE? China hit the frame for the second time this match and it's because the Indian defence fails to head out the danger once again. Xiao Zhi glances the ball towards Wu Lei, who is right in front of the goal. but the forward directs a powerful half-volley to the top of the roof, managing to only strike the frame.

69' China up the ante. Subhasish Bose fails to head the cross out, allowing Yu Hanchao to have a poke at the goal. He manages to woo Gurpreet out of his region and hits the side netting.

67' China with the substitution
OFF - Zhao Xuri (29)
ON - Mirahmetjan Muzepper (16)

63' After missing what was the biggest chance for India, Bengaluru FC winger Udanta Singh leaves the pitch, to be replaced by another winger.
ON - Nikhil Poojary (13)
OFF - Udanta Singh (15)

63' It has been over an hour at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium and India make two changes. Anas Edathodika comes on for Narayan Das. Subhasish Bose moves to the left-back position now and Anas takes his place next to Sandesh at the central defence.
OFF - Narayan Das (21)
ON - Anas Edathodika (22)

58' Referee makes the first booking of the game after Liu Yiming te late into Anirudh Thapa. The youngster receives treatment and gets back on his feet.

56' What did he do there? Poof. Udanta Singh is at the right place at the right time, on the right side of the box. He has acres of space to shoot but he goes for power and the shot is nowhere close to the goal. Chance wasted.

53' Fourth change for China.
OFF - Jin Jingdao (30)
ON - Yu Hai (21)

53' A defensive overhaul
OFF - Wang Tong (14)
ON - Yu Hanchao (20)

53' Another chance for Gao Lin, who manages to sneak into the box from the right to meet a chipped through-ball. But Gurpreet comes out right in front of him, and the pressured Gao Lin miscues his attempt to shoot wide.

50' CHINA HIT THE POST! Big chance for Gao Lin, who stops at his track anticipating the cross from the right. There's no defender near him and he goes for a first-time, his shot managing to kiss the post. The striker could have done better.

46' Second change for China
OFF - Yu Yang (4)
ON - Liu Yiming (2)

46' China make their first change, hoping to better their luck in front of the goal.
OFF - Yu Dabao (22)
ON - Xiao Zhi (9)

46' Second half is underway and China threaten India again. Substitute Xiao Zhi stretches out but Gurpreet collects the ball and maintains safety.

Stats at HT show that India have just 36 per cent of the possession. Barring for that surprise shot by Pritam Kotal, India have not managed to test the Chinese goalkeeper much. On the other hand, Gurpreet was called into action at least eight times. India need to stay focused at the back and sneak up on the Chinese up front if they are to manage a goal in the second half. Stay tuned!

HALF TIME! India have done well so far and they have stuck to their shape to keep the scores 0-0. China coach Marcello Lippi will expect more from his attackers, while India just need to keep their composure in front of the goal to surge ahead in the game.

42' CHANCE! China goalkeeper Yan Junling steps out of his box to clear the danger but that's when Sunil Chhetri grabs hold of a second ball and feeds it to Jeje Lalpekhlua. Jungling rushes back to guard the goal and Jeje tries to score from an acute angle, which is nowhere near the target.

38' The hosts controlling most of the possession at this point of the game and they dump another ball in the penalty box through Li Xuepeng. Wu Lei stretches out but the cross is a few feet from, rather behind, the desired target.

35' Now it's Narayan Das who is unable to provide a good cross after a cunning through-ball by Anirudh Thapa into the left flank.

33' CHANCE! Narayan Das floats a ball into the box but there's no striker there to fire it in. Udanta tries a volley after that poor clearance but the shot is miscued. With only about 40 per cent of the possession at their feet, India have to convert these chances and half-chances if they are looking to make a mark here.

29' So how are China playing this game? Poor football, I must say. The midfielders are just directing chipped through-balls, hoping to split the Indian central defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Subhasish Bose. Most of those passes are nowhere near the desired attacker. They are building up the play nicely in the centre of the park but once they reach the attacking third, it's just random aerial balls into the penalty box.

24' SAVED! Gurpreet keeps India in the game with a brilliant save, diving to his left and using his leg to stop that shot by Gao Lin. Sandesh and Subhasish fail to clear an aerial ball and it lands at the feet of Yu Dabao, who sets Gao Lin up for a shot.

22' India have settled into this game quite well and are creating many chances of their own. It almost feels like the hosts are the ones who are trying to catch up to India with their defensive clearances. Now, India just need to make most of the loose balls given away by China.

17' OVER THE BAR! From a free-kick 35 yards out on the left, Anirudh Thapa floats in a ball to the far post. Sunil Chhetri stretches out to guide it home but it's goes above the frame. Close one.

12' The scores remain 0-0 only because of the inaccuracy of the Chinese attackers. Wu Xi of China takes a curling shot on goal but it just goes wide of the right post. Meanwhile, Pritam Kotal gets a shot in from the right, which is gloved away by the keeper Yan Junlin. Better from India. It's their first shot on goal.

7' The action has mostly been on the Indian half of the pitch. The hosts are a given a free run at the left flank and they get in two shots already. Danger looming for India.

3' Quick quiz. How many throw-ins did both of these concede in the first few minutes?
Oh! China get a shot in at the goal, which is deflected behind for a corner. No threat from the flag-kick.

1' Wooooooooot! We're off! China get it going at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Both teams trade possession in the early seconds of the game.

Remember Sunil Chhetri's plea to fans during the Intercontinental Cup earlier this year?
"Please get involved, this is an important time and juncture in Indian football and football in India needs you guys," the striker had said.
His message holds true even today as we approach kick off. India will play the 2019 Asian Cup in January and how the game today will help them prepare for the Asian Cup. Let's hope they make heads turn with their display.
Game next.

In 2018, India have played six internationals (not counting the SAFF Championship where Stephen Constantine took the Under-23s) and the duo of Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua has dominated the scoresheets. Apart from the two, only Udanta Singh and Pronay Halder have managed to net for India.
Between the two, that man Chhetri has the most number of goals this year - 10 strikes in 6 matches. Four of those came against Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup. He also had a hat-trick against Taipei and managed to score one against New Zealand too.
Jeje, on the other hand, pumped in a late goal for India in the last Asian Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan and also managed one against Kenya in their 3-0 win.
What's more, Chhetri has managed 26 shots on the goal in the last six matches and if India are to do well today, SC11 has a big role to play. Captain (well, not for this match at least), Leader and Legend.

Here's the rest of the Indian squad:
Amrinder Singh (GK), Karanjit Singh (GK), Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Vinit Rai, Ashique Kuruniyan, Sumeet Passi, Nikhil Poojary, Rowllin Borges, Anas Edathodika, Farukh Choudhary

And among them, I think Ashique, Poojary and Rowllin will definitely make an appearance off the bench. Between Farukh and Passi, no prizes for guessing who I would prefer turning out for India against China!
30 minutes to go...

Subhasish Bose for Anas Edathodika!
That's a surprise. Bose, usually a left-back, will play in the central defence along with captain Sandesh Jhingan, pushing Anas Edathodika onto the bench.
Anirudh Thapa too is given a start and Rowllin Borges will have to be happy with an appearance off the bench.

China's Starting XI:
Yan Junlin (GK)
Li Xuepen, Feng Xiaoting, Yu Yang, Wang Tong
Jin Jingdao, Zhao Xuri, Wu Xi
Wu Lei, Yu Dabao, Gao Lin

Starting XI for India vs China.
Kick-off IST 5.05 pm. #AsianDream #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/w2WgU1p3em
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018

India's Starting XI:
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK)
Narayan Das, Subhasish Bose, Sandesh Jhingan (captain), Pritam Kotal
Halicharan Narzary, Pronay Halder Anirudh Thapa, Udanta Singh
Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua

The India vs China game is categorised as an international friendly. It is anything but that. This game kicks off India's preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup, where they are pooled alongside hosts UAE, Thailand and Bahrain. Interestingly, Bahrain managed to hold China goalless in a friendly earlier, which goes on to show that even India can manage a positive result from this game. But all depends on how India fight off the pressure in the initial stages of the game and manage to stay focused throughout the 90 minutes. Team line-ups next!

China vs India Live | International Friendly | As it happened

India have travelled to China to take on them in an international friendly