Uzbecks enter final of Eider Nehru football

A golden goal in the 110th minute by Akopyants Andrey broke the deadlock and tumbled China out of the Eider Nehru International football tournament in Kochi on Wednesday, even as it took Uzbeckistan into the final of the tournament.

China earlier started off like a dream, going into an early lead before the Uzbecks pulled it back with a spotkick in the 85th minute, forcing the game into extra time. During the sudden death play, Andrey chased a Ravshanjon pass down the left, blazed past the tackles of Chinese defenders Hao Wei and Zheng Yi, and slammed home to bring the game to an end.

In the first session, China was the first to find its feet, moving the ball well with shallow diagonal passes in the midfield, and the linkmen swapping positions often.

The ploy earned the Chinese their first goal, in the first minute, when Qui Zhong Hui found himself perfectly placed in the penalty box to receive a floater from Chang, off a flag kick. The striker merely had to nod it home past the rival goalkeeper.

Uzbekistan's game improved in the second half, after Soliev Anvarjon came in for Aleksy and Preuden Denis for Kuinetsov Konstantine. The Chinese were forced to resort to hard tackles to counter the new found menace of the Uzbeck forward line, and one of these earned a booking for Qiu Wei. Azizjon then converted a spotkick, after a surging Andrey was brought down inside the penalty area.

Hosts India, meanwhile, are slated to face defending champions Iraq in the other semifinal on Thursday.

It's been a while since India figured in the last four stage of an international football tournament, and coach Syed Nayeemuddin was looking forward to a win over the favoured Iraqis. "My boys seem even more confident than I am, I think if we can be a little more organised, we have a chance of making the final."

Nayeem, captain of the bronze-medal winning Indian team in the 1970 Asiad, says that India should play its natural game, and not be overawed by the opposition. The main problem, though, will be its lack of strike power - thus far, India is yet to win a single game out of four played in the tournament. Thus far, India has drawn against China, Uzbekistan and Ghama, and suffered a lone defeat, in the league phase, from the Iraqis. The scoreline in that game read 1-0.

Another problem for the Indians is injury - at the time of writing this, left winger Roberto Fernandez, goalkeeper Hemanta Dora and Tauseef Jamal are all on the doubtful list.