Striker Jeje Lalpekhlua scored twice as India recovered from a one-goal deficit to thrash Laos 6-1 in one of the biggest ever wins and book a berth in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup football Qualifiers on Monday.
India trailed 0-1 in the 16th minute through a Khonesavanh Sihavong strike but the home side replied in a remarkable fashion as they dominated all through the remaining part of the match, pumping in six goals — including three in seven minutes — to walk away with an easy win.
Jeje Lalpekhlua (42nd and 74th minute), Sumeet Passi (45th), Sandesh Jhingan (49th), Mohd. Rafique (83rd) and debutant Fulganco Cardozo (87th) were the goal-getters for India in the second leg of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers play-off match at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium.
India won the home and away tie 7-1 on aggregate to book a berth in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. They had beaten Laos 1-0 in the first leg in Vientiane on June 2. This was one of the biggest ever wins for India.
They had to play in the play-offs after finishing at the bottom of their group in the joint preliminary round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The victory and a berth in the Asian Cup Qualifiers will ease a lot of pressure on coach Stephen Constantine whose future has been under a scanner after a string of poor shows by the national team.
India took some time to settle down in the match played under slippery conditions and Laos were the better side in the initial 15 minutes. The visiting side created problems for the Indian defence from the right flank in this period.
India paid the price of relying on off-side trap as Sihavong found himself unmarked inside the box and he sent a low left footer past Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to the stunned silence of a sparse crowd at the stadium.
Jolted by the early reverse, India regrouped and they began dictating terms on their opponents.