It was a night to remember for Indian football, a night when an entire nation rejoiced seeing the ball being caressed off the head of an Indian player and hitting the back of the net in emphatic fashion. India had scored its first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup and for many it was the best day of their life.
It was a moment that the Indian fans had waited for a long time. After the glorious years during the 50’s and 60’s, Indian football had been in a dormant state for a long time, with close to no development happening in the sport in the country.
But a recent wave in the football culture in India helped lure FIFA into hosting the U-17 World Cup in a largely football deprived country.
And boy have we delivered until now!
People have flocked into the stadiums, filling them up, chanting their lungs out and egging the boys on through thick and thin. And the young Indian side has responded beautifully, taking some time to soak in the atmosphere and settle in but when they have hit full throttle, they have flourished.
Slick passing, effective trickery and guile, pure guile; the Indian Football Team has truly risen to the occasion. When not many gave these young colts a chance, they have showed the nation that there is a lot of promise, and that if worked with in a channelised manner, Indian football could soar new heights in the years to come.
Jeakson entered into history books by scoring that thumping header, helping India register its first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup.
India however could not muster anything from the game, as Colombia struck right after Jeakson’s historic goal to restore their 1 goal advantage of the Indian Colts.
India now face an uphill task as they need to beat Ghana and hope that USA can beat Colombia by a big margin.
But the best part of it is that there is this belief now, the first hurdle of ‘scoring a goal’ is out of the way, and India can now focus on tactically beating the sturdy Ghana outfit.
Do tune in on the 12th of October to maybe witness India reach the knockout stages of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Check out the video here:
