5 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Mar 13, 2026 11:13 PM IST
With World Cup qualification assured regardless of their outcome towards Italy within the semifinal of the qualifiers on Friday, India head coach Sjoerd Marijne mentioned he demanded that his gamers ‘be the very best model of themselves’. “We have to enhance each match and that begins with each particular person,” he mentioned earlier than the match. What adopted over the following 60 minutes didn’t fairly dwell as much as these calls for, however India nonetheless did sufficient to edge previous Italy 1-0 and seal their spot within the title conflict towards England on Saturday.
The solitary purpose was credited to Manisha Chauhan, so that’s an extra field ticked off for India. In Deepika’s absence for this event – the ahead who has been India’s major drag flick risk in current occasions – Manisha and debutant Annu have been tasked with flicking from quick corners. However the major choices have been to go for Navneet Kaur or Udita for low slaps and angular hits. When offered with probabilities within the earlier matches, Manisha had not been capable of convert regardless of drawing saves from the opponent’s goalkeepers.
Within the fortieth minute towards Italy, with strain mounting on India to search out the breakthrough, Manisha managed to maintain her flick on course however it nonetheless wanted a big serving to hand – or stick – from Italy because the ball looped over goalkeeper Lucia Caruso after taking a deflection off Sofia Laurito. Worryingly, although, that was the one Penalty Nook transformed by India from 9 alternatives on this match.
Within the opening exchanges, Italy barely had a whiff down India’s half, however regardless of dominating possession, the hosts didn’t actually bother the low block that the Europeans have been using. By crowding the midfield and defence, they restricted India to only passive threats outdoors and on the fringe of the circle. The truth is, Lola Brea, Italy’s greatest wager going ahead, dropped her shoulder on the fringe of the circle to beat Udita’s marking however missed an excellent probability to check Bichu Devi.
India began the second quarter higher, with Sunelita Toppo combining down the left with Navneet to trend the primary of many PCs of the night time. However the injection-trapping mechanism failed for the hosts. From their second PC shortly after, Salima Tete discovered herself in a great scoring place after Udita discovered her with a variation from the primary battery. However Salima’s push in direction of purpose was deflected large from a decent angle. From their third PC, Navneet’s try to discover a deflection via one other variation didn’t come to fruition both.
The primary massive attacking risk of the second half got here from Italy as Bichu was compelled right into a save off Emilia Munitis after a counterattack down the appropriate flank. Then got here what may have been an outrageous purpose for India, as Navneet Kaur produced a sensational flip of particular person talent, 3D-ing previous a few defenders, producing a magical 360-degree spin to get rid of some extra markers, however her ultimate move was simply forward of Ishika’s stick from shut vary.
The breakthrough lastly got here from a careless mistake in defence from Italy for not giving 5m to Rutuja on the fringe of the circle, which gave India their first PC of the second half, and Manisha stepped as much as convert.
Story continues under this advert
A 1-0 lead forward of the ultimate quarter was not very best, as Italy had proven sufficient risk on the counter. Within the first couple of minutes, India received one other PC and this time it was Annu’s flip to go for the dragflick that was saved beautifully to her proper by Caruso.
With slightly below 5 minutes again, Italy eliminated their goalkeeper to make use of 11 outfield gamers looking for that equaliser and so they have been capable of lastly make the numerical benefit translate into one thing tangible. After a few minutes of sustained onslaught on India’s defence, Italy celebrated successful their first PC of the night time with 77 seconds left.
However Navneet, who has been India’s greatest attacking participant via the event, got here up with a important contact in defence with a goal-line clearance on the publish to disclaim Federica Carta. It was nearly as good as a purpose scored by Navneet. India held on, however England won’t be as accommodating within the quest for gold on Saturday if the efficiency enchancment demanded by Marjine doesn’t materialise in lower than 24 hours.