India's Jeakson Singh scores country's first ever goal in World Cup before hosts go down 1-2 to Colombians taste blood before going down
Never bet against these free-flowing Indian Blue Cubs.
That's the lesson that Norton de Matos' boys taught to their much superior Latin American side Colombia even in a defeat which would have never been so reassuring as it was on Monday night here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
A nation whose senior team is not even ranked within 100 at the world level, these bunch of nearly 16-year-olds matched the skills and physical prowess of much superior Colombians before going down 1-2 in the end.
Juan Penaloza strike in the fourth and 83th minute of the second half ensured Colombians saved their reputation as well as chance to qualify for next round of 16.
Having finished the first half scoreless, both teams came back with more energy. And what a moment it was for Manipuri striker Jeakson Singh when he headed India's first ever goal in any of the FIFA's World Cup history in the 82nd minute. The 35,000-plus crowd came on to their feet to celebrate this moment.
The resulting corner by Sanjeev Stalin was met by tall Jeakson who rose above everyone else to send the crowd here into delirium. And that's where it cost India dear as Colombians launched the counter to take advantage of some dancing Indian feet.
All that euphoria of scoring the first ever goal came to an abrupt end as Penaloza once again broke Indian hearts with his swift finish past Anwar Ali and Namit Deshpande in the 84th minute.
Blue Cubs gave everything that they had in the last few minutes but the credit should go to Latin Americans for keeping their cool and keeping them alive in the tournament.
Colombians were certainly up against a team which enjoyed such huge home support here. The final whistle brought heartbreaks and rightly booed by the spectators. De Matos boys gave it their all. Indians may be virtually out of this tournament but they still have one more match to play against Ghana.
Both teams enjoyed a fair share of chances in the first-half. It;s been a procession of long balls that both teams tried to test each other's aerial prowess in the game's early stages. Abhijit Sarkar in the 16th minute surged with the ball beating two Colombian defenders to find a clear shot at the goal.
But an excellent save by Kevin Meir in the Colombian goal denied him what was India's best chance in the first half. Rahul Kannoly also hit goal's outer post towards the end of first half but the deadlock refused to break in the first 45 minutes.
There were few crazy last minutes towards the end of the game with India's substitutes Aniket Jadhav and Nongdamba Naorem's introduction helped India change to the top gear.
In the end, Latin Americans went back with a win but the crowd here surely left with memories of the first ever World Cup goal across any age group for India.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Jeakson Singh-PTI")
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}