India women hold Uzbekistan to goalless draw in second 2024 football friendly

The Indian women’s football team held hosts Uzbekistan to a goalless draw in the second friendly match between the two teams at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent on Tuesday.

After losing the first game 3-0 last week, India put on a much more composed showing in the second match and threatened the Uzbekistan goal on multiple occasions in the opening 15 minutes, primarily through set pieces.

The best chances of the first-half fell to Soumya Guguloth, who constantly cut inside to trouble the Uzbek defence.

With the first, Guguloth volleyed Anju Tamang’s cut back wide of the goal after she was left unmarked near the penalty spot.

Tamang was in the thick of things for the second chance as well. Uzbek goalkeeper Zarina Saidova’s weak punch to try and clear Tamang’s cross fell to Guguloth and even though the Indian winger managed to turn it in, it was scrapped due to offside.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though, as Uzbekistan forced Shreya Hooda into a pair of smart saves, the first from a long range shot she tipped over, before saving a header from the resulting corner. The teams went into the break locked in a goalless stalemate.

The second half played out similarly to the first with India as the primary aggressors and the hosts relying on counter-attacks.

Despite dominating the possession and constantly driving the ball into the final third, India’s lack of finesse with the final pass let them down. On the rare occasions that they did get the pass right, it was the finish that was lacking.

India are currently ranked 66th in the FIFA women’s football rankings while the Uzbekistan national team is 48th.