India put up a fight but go down 0-3 to Morocco

The journey will end next week but three second-half goals from Morocco officially put India out of the reckoning for a berth in the quarter-finals of the under-17 women’s World Cup. In keeping with the trend of how host nations have fared in this competition since 2012, India will finish at the bottom of the group. They were there after two games with no points and a goal difference of -11.

Thomas Dennerby had asked for attitude and India did not let the head coach down. From the off. There was skipper and left back Astam Oraon urging the team to move up. Central midfielder Shilky Hemam softened up a player early and was booked for an over-exuberant challenge close to half-time. The defence was organised, the midfield winning duels and trying to play out. Nitu Linda, possibly the smallest player in the group, proved too hot to handle for the Morocco left back leading her to pull the India wide right once to stop a move in the 17th minute.

India won their first corner-kick in the eighth minute; nine minutes before Morocco earned theirs. But for all the heart, their passing while moving forward lacked precision. It seemed all too hurried. Morocco absorbed the pressure, central defenders Nadia Benassou and Fatima El Ghazouani comfortably dealing with every attempt by the midfield to lob the ball over them for striker Anita Kumar. That meant one shot on target for India in the 83rd minute.

Dennerby had spoken of this being a worry and that the team had been working on it. On evidence of Friday’s performance, it can be said that a lot more would need to be done. Throughout the game, India lacked finesse in the front third in the way Samya Masnaoui fed Djennah Cherif for the third goal.

Morocco had five shots on goal in the first half and their skipper Yasmine Zouhir’s volley rocked the horizontal in the 19th minute. But barring that attempt, goalkeeper Melody Keisham, one of the three changes in the starting line-up from the game against USA, wasn’t challenged. Keisham did leave charge once and fail to collect but India got back in numbers to bail her out. Another time she was caught out, Naketa stayed last on the line to clear the danger.

Having teamed up well with Kajal in the inner defence, Naketa’s evening was ruined when she conceded a penalty; her hand moving towards the ball after Morocco played a corner-kick short. Up stepped Doha El Madani and put Morocco ahead in the 50th minute. It was 2-0 in the 62nd when Keisham spilled a routine collection and Zouhir was at hand to knock it in. With there being no end to India’s struggles in stitching together moves that could test Morocco, it would have been enough. Cherif’s neat lob over Keisham in the first minute of added time was another proof that India did not need of what they lacked on the night.