An outstanding performance by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh helped India hold China to a goalless draw at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in China on Saturday. Gurpreet made a couple of great saves throughout the entire game to deny China of any goal. Unlike his Chinese counterpart, Gurpreet was busy since the word go, courtesy the continuous attack from China in both the halves. China never looked out of the game as they easily penetrated the Indian defence at will. India, on the other hand, could not find their footing in the game. The second-half was an exact photocopy of the first-half as China didn't let the Indian defence rest. Earlier in the first-half, India got their first real chance of the game in the 13th minute but Pritam Kotal was denied by the opposition goalkeeper. After the first 20 minutes of the game, India slowed the game down but that did not let China stop from attacking India. Sunil Chhetri missed a golden opportunity to put his team in the lead off a Anirudh Thapa free-kick. Chhetri came running in and failed to find the back of the Chinese goal as the ball flew over the opposition post. But the draw was no less than a win as India did well t hold off the Chinese.
Highlights Between India vs China, Friendly Football Match straight from Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, China
19:00 IST: Thank you for joining us for the live blog.
18:59 IST: FULL-TIME!! Gurpreet Singh's brilliant performance helps India to draw 0-0 against China.
Full Time: @GurpreetGK had an outstanding outing as @IndianFootball does well against China and could have easily won the friendly which ended in a goalless draw.#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia pic.twitter.com/S9EHFcPgsH
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
18:57 IST: SAVE! Gurpreet makes another brilliant save to deny China a 1-0 win against India.
18:56 IST: India get a corner in the dying minutes of the game. But the Rowllin Borges corner is cleared away by the Chinese defence withe ease.
18:53 IST: Five minutes of added time. Substitution -- Anirudh Thapa comes off and Rowllin Borges makes his way to the field.
18:50 IST: Last three minutes of play left in the game. India will hoping to play out the rest of the game without any more risks.
18:43 IST: 80 minutes are up -- India are being put under immense pressure as China continue their onslaught. Gurpreet Singh needs to be credited for the work that he has put in for the team in this match. He has been busy in the game, unlike his Chinese counterpart.
18:40 IST: SAVE!! Gurpreet Singh has kept India in the game with some brilliant saves in the second half. The Indian goalie makes a couple of close saves as China fail to find the back of the Indian goal.
18:32 IST: CHANCE!! China penetrate the Indian defence with ease, the ball is cleared but not far from the danger area. Wu Lei, who was present just outside the penalty box, attempts a half-volley but the ball hits the top of the Indian post. Gurpreet was once again left stranded.
18:29 IST: China get a free-kick in a dangerous area, again. However, the ball flies over the Indian post without bothering Gurpreet Singh much.
18:28 IST: Trivia -- 12 of India's last 17 goals have come in the second half.
18:27 IST: China get a free-kick in a dangerous position. But the cross is headed wide off the India post.
18:25 IST: Double substitution for India -- Anas Edathodika, Nikhil Poojari replace Narayan Das and Udanta Singh.
18:23 IST: 60 minutes are up -- Gurpreet Singh has been making a series of wonderful saves to deny China an opening goal as India, yet again, are failing to find their footing in the game.
60' China's increased attacking initiatives in 1st quarter of 2nd half. China's Substitution IN-Liu (2)OUT-Yang(4) IN-Xiao (9)OUT-Dabao(22) and IN-Hai (21)OUT-Jingdao (30), IN-Hanchao (20), OUT-Wang(14)
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
CHN 0 - 0 IND#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia
18:16 IST: Minutes into the second half and India are already under huge pressure, courtesy wave of Chinese attacks. However, it will be frustrating for the hosts as they just can't find the back of the net.
18:11 IST: CLOSE!! China come agonisingly close to take a lead in the match but the ball hits the top left corner of the Indian post, Gurpreet was stranded. India breathe a sigh of relief.
18:08 IST: The second half of the match begins. China are on the attack and make a swift transition to penetrate the Indian defence but Gurpreet does well and collects the ball with ease.
17:53 IST: HALF-TIME! India 0-0 China.
45' At half time, China and @IndianFootball would be disappointed as they've been unable to score from opportunities created to give their team the lead. Both teams showed intent, but lacked finishing.
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
CHN 0 - 0 IND#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia pic.twitter.com/Uw0c1iMcj3
17:49 IST: China get a free-kick. The ball curled in is headed over the Indian post by a Chinese player. Half-time mark is approaching.
17:44 IST: Halicharan Narzary clears the ball just from outside of the penalty box as two Chinese players fails to connect with the cross.
17:40 IST: India have slowed down the tempo of the game but that is not keeping China from making repeated attack. India, on the other hand, are looking to cash in on loose opportunities. India 0-0 China.
17:36 IST: 30 minutes are up -- China are trying hard to find the back of the net but the Indian defence are still standing strong.
30' The second 15 mins of the first half saw @IndianFootball come back strongly and threatened with clear scoring opportunities, but PR China has still been kept at bay by @GurpreetGK
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
CHN 0 - 0 IND#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia
17:34 IST: Pritam makes a low cross but Jeje fails to connect as falls due to lack of balance.
17:29 IST: SAVE!! Momentarily lapse from Subhasish Bose and China make a dangerous penetration. However, Gurpreet does good to deny the opposition of a goal.
17:27 IST: 20 minutes are up -- While China still have their attacking mode on, India are slowly growing in the game.
17:23 IST: MISS! India get a free-kick. Anirudh Thapa curls the ball in. Sunil Chhetri comes running in but fails to make a connect as the ball flies over the post. This was a golden opportunity for the Indian side to take an early lead.
17:20 IST: SAVE! Gurpreet collects the ball as ease and a Chinese player heads the ball straight to the Indian goalkeeper.
17:18 IST: Chance for India! India get their first real opportunity of the game in the 13th minute. But the Chinese keeper makes a great save to deny Pritam Kotal an opening goal. That was close.
15' The first quarter of the 1st half has seen @MisterLippi's PR China not been able to convert their opportunities, and @KotalPritam's powerful right footer was brilliantly saved by Chinese keeper
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
CHN 0 - 0 IND#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia
17:15 IST: 10 minutes are up -- China are completely dominating the tempo of the game. India, on the other hand, are still looking out of place. However, the Indian defence is being put to work by the Chinese players.
17:11 IST: China are penetrating the Indian defence at will. However, the Indian defence is standing tall and clearing the ball away.
17:10 IST: Five minutes in the game and China are dominating ball possession. The hosts, it seems, are on attack mode. China are not allowing India to keep the ball in their half.
17:08 IST: CORNER! China get the first corner of the game in the third minute of the game. The hosts takes a short corner but Pranoy Halder clears the ball.
17:05 IST: KICK OFF! The India vs China match begins.
0' CHN-IND friendly kicks off at Suzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, China. @IndianFootball plays a 4-2-2-2 formation, led by @SandeshJhingan in their blue attire and China wearing red.
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
CHN 0 - 0 IND#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia
16:56 IST: Players are walking out on the field and the pre-match rituals are underway.
16:50 IST: We are minutes away from the big clash. Stay tuned, folks!
16:14 IST: The starting XI for India announced -- Gurpreet Singh (gk), Narayan Das, Subhasish Bose, Sandesh Jhingan (c), Pritam Kotal, Halicharan Narzary, Anirudh Thapa, Pronay Halder, Udanta Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua
Starting XI for India vs China.
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
Kick-off IST 5.05 pm. #AsianDream #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/w2WgU1p3em
16:00 IST: Sandesh Jhingan will be captaining the Indian side. Can he inspire India to a famous victory?
The wall of the @IndianFootball team , @SandeshJhingan, will need to be at the top of his game against People's Republic of China tonight!
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) October 13, 2018
Can he inspire the Blue Tigers to a historic result?#CHNvIND #BackTheBlue #FanBannaPadega pic.twitter.com/2U0MwTsS5F
15:45 IST: "Wishing you great success boys in the International Friendly against China today. I am sure you will give your best through the game," tweets Praful Patel.
15:41 IST: With the stage all set for the grand event, India will be looking to break the jinx and register a win against China.
The stage is all set!
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
Two teams One game...#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #WeAreIndia pic.twitter.com/jJXAeBdlDV
15:40 IST: Hello and welcome to the live blog of the football friendly between India and China.
China are now 76th in FIFA rankings and seventh in Asia. China have played 11 times in the Asian Cup, the continent's top-flight competition and have finished runners-up twice and third as many times. India, on the other hand, has played only thrice in the Asian Cup (1964 runners-up; 1984 and 2011) and recently broke into the top 100 in the FIFA rankings after a long time. The country is now 97th in FIFA rankings and 15th in Asia.
