In a tightly contested match at the 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai stadium in Thailand, Lebanon emerged victorious over India with a score of 1-0 in the 2023 King’s Cup final, securing the third-place finish. Lebanon’s Kassem El Zein scored the game’s sole goal with a spectacular acrobatic bicycle-kick in the 77th minute. Although Indian captain Sandesh Jhingan raised offside claims after the match, the officials dismissed them.
The game began with Lebanon dominating possession for the first 30 minutes, although they struggled to create clear-cut chances. India gradually increased their offensive efforts, with Manvir Singh heading the ball just over the crossbar and Lallianzuala Chhangte coming close to scoring from inside the box, only to be thwarted by a last-second challenge from El Zein.
As the game approached stoppage time, India continued to press forward. Chhangte delivered a superb cross towards the far post, offering India an excellent opportunity to equalize. However, both Rohit Kumar and KP Rahul failed to make a clean connection with the ball, leaving the goal unguarded.
Despite intense pressure from India, Lebanon managed to secure victory in their third encounter, having previously failed to defeat India in Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.
Latest FIFA Rankings Update: India experienced a decline in the most recent FIFA World Rankings following their loss to Lebanon. The Blue Tigers saw a reduction of approximately (-5.09) points, bringing their total points to 1204.88. In contrast, Lebanon’s snug victory over India resulted in a gain of (+5.09) points, raising their total to 1205.56.
As of the latest update, Lebanon occupies the 101st position in the FIFA Rankings, an increase of (+1) from their previous ranking after the match. Meanwhile, India now stands at 102nd place, a decrease of (-3) from their previous ranking.
While the Blue Tigers put forth a commendable effort against Lebanon and Iraq, they will undoubtedly be disappointed with this outcome. Coach Igor Stimac is likely to encourage his team to secure victories in upcoming matches, as this could potentially earn them valuable FIFA points and influence their climb up the FIFA rankings in the next update.
