India and Afghanistan Play Scoreless Draw in CAFA Nations Cup 2025
India’s national football team, the Blue Tigers, had a tough but evenly matched game against Afghanistan in their last Group B match at the CAFA Nations Cup 2025. The match took place at the Hisor Central Stadium in Hisor, Tajikistan, on Thursday, ending in a goalless draw.
With this result, India finishes the group stage with four points from three games. They now wait to see the outcome of the match between Iran and Tajikistan. While India can no longer top the group, there’s a good chance they will still make it to the knockout stage. If Tajikistan doesn’t beat Iran, India could advance to the third-place match scheduled for September 8.
The game started intensely, with Afghanistan pushing forward early on. However, India created some promising chances on the counter-attack. Around the 15th minute, Ashique Kuruniyan made a great run down the left wing and passed to Irfan Yadwad, who narrowly missed scoring.
India’s goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was quick to act in the 24th minute, making a smart save from a long shot by Ali Reza Panahi. A few minutes later, Yadwad nearly scored after breaking into Afghanistan’s box but missed the target.
Ashique Kuruniyan was involved in many attacking moments. In the 34th minute, he pressured Afghanistan’s center-back Mahboob Hanifi, stole the ball, and was one-on-one with the goalkeeper Faisal Ahmad Hamidi. However, the Afghan keeper saved well. Ashique was also shown a yellow card for colliding with the goalkeeper during the same attack.
India had more chances before halftime. Jithin MS, making his first start for India, showed skill on the right wing and set up Ashique, but his shot was blocked. Just before halftime, Jithin had another shot from the edge of the box, but it went over the crossbar.
After the break, India took control of the match with fresh players like Manvir Singh Jr and Vikram Partap Singh entering the game. In the 60th minute, Jithin almost scored with a clever through ball from Nikhil Prabhu, but just missed. He had another chance in the 66th minute, but his shot went wide.
Afghanistan nearly scored in the 71st minute when Yama Sherzad’s shot was tipped onto the crossbar by Gurpreet Sandhu, one of the best saves of the game. The match remained tight, with both teams fighting hard until the final whistle. In the end, India’s strong defense secured a clean sheet, earning the draw.
India now looks ahead to their next challenge, hoping results go in their favor to advance further in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025. The team’s performance showed resilience and determination, promising exciting football fans in the upcoming matches.
