Welcome to another edition of Indian football news roundup. Today, we will discuss about Anas Edathodika’s retirement from international football, Miku’s return to India after recovering from an ankle injury, Ishan Pandita penning the deal with a La Liga II club, and Asian Cup 2019 results.
In case you missed out the previous edition of the Indian football news roundup, you can check it out here.
Asian Cup 2019: Anas Edathodika announces his retirement from international football
Indian national team defender Anas Edathodika has announced his retirement from international football after the Blue Tigers suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Bahrain in the Asian Cup 2019. Currently contracted with Kerala Blasters, Anas announced the same via his official Twitter account.
The 31-year-old earned a total of 19 caps under Stephen Constantine, who handed him his international debut against Cambodia in March 2017. In his last match against Bahrain in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, he had to be substituted in the 4th minute itself after he aggravated his knee injury. India, eventually, lost the match 1-0 and bowed out of the tournament despite putting up a spirited performance. Here is the pertaining emotional tweet:
It comes with a very heavy heart today to announce my retirement from Indian national football team. It’s been a very hard decision to take and accept. pic.twitter.com/D3ZohMLuZz
— Anas Edathodika (@anasedathodika) January 15, 2019
Bengaluru FC News: Venezuelan striker Miku returns back to India
Venezuelan striker Miku has returned back to India after rehabilitating from an injury he sustained in the encounter against FC Goa on November 22. Even in his absence, Bengaluru FC maintained their unbeaten run and currently sit on the top of the Indian Super League table.
However, the team suffered a dent in the goalscoring department as they managed to find the back of the net only 6 times in the last 5 matches as opposed to 12 from their earlier 6 appearances.
Goal.com broke the news and told that the team’s preparations for the second half of the season is in full-swing with the remaining players, barring those in national duty, having already assembled on January 9.
Asian Cup 2019 Results: Australia score a late winner to break Syrian hearts, Jordan share spoils with Palestine
Australia scored a late winner to break Syrian hearts in the Group B of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as the final scoreline read 3-2 in the Socceroos’ favor. In the other encounter of the same group, Jordan and Palestine played out a drab 0-0 draw. Palestine can still make it to the Round of 16 if they finish as one of the four best third-placed teams despite the chances being slim.
Australia required just a draw to cruise through to the next round but, unlike India, they played for a win. The Socceroos took the lead in the 41st minute thanks to Awer Mabil’s thunderous strike. However, the joy was short-lived as Syria’s Omar Khribin capitalized on the lapse in concentration among the central defenders to restore the parity within a minute.
Chris Ikonomidis restored Australia’s lead from a sublime strike in the 54th minute and, Australia held on to it until the 80th minute when Omar Al Somah converted a controversial penalty awarded to the war-torn nation.
Just when it looked like Syria would finish third in the group, Tom Rogic spoiled their mood with a thunderous strike moments before the full-time whistle.
Ishan Pandita signs for La Liga II club Gimnastic de Tarragona
India’s rising striker Ishan Pandita has signed for La Liga II club Gimnastic de Tarragona from the the U-19 side of Spanish top division club CD Leganes. However, he will be donning their subsidiary club CF La Pobla de Mafumet’s jersey which plays in the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. The club announced the same via their official Twitter account.
FILIAL | 🤝 Ishan Pandita s’incorpora al @CFPoblaMafumet.
👋 #BienvenidoPandita
💪🔴⚪️ #ForçaNAS pic.twitter.com/demVzjYykj— NÀSTIC DE TARRAGONA (@NASTICTARRAGONA) January 14, 2019
India has a dearth of talent in the striking department. Most of the I-League and ISL clubs employ foreign players up front as they outmuscle the Indians easily with their muscle strength and trickery. Let’s hope that Ishan Pandita learns a trick or two after he completes his foray into Spanish waters.
