5 best moments of Indian football in 2016
2016 – the year the men’s national team finished with their best-ever world ranking of 135 – was an upbeat one for Indian football with history being scripted on the continental front by more than one club and the women’s national team’s continued dominance in regional competition among other achievements.
The I-league saw Bengaluru FC crowned champions and so did the ISL with Atletico de Kolkata – both for the second time in their respective histories, and several new starlets such as Jeje Lalpekhlua stepped firmly into the spotlight.
With so much to cheer and celebrate, here are five of the very best moments over the last year of Indian football.
#5 India National Men’s team beats Puerto Rico 4 – 1
It was not just the fact that their opponents were ranked several places higher – 114th in the world to be exact – but the manner of victory and the scoreline that made this game among the most memorable of the five wins for Stephen Constantine’s men last year.
In the first international fixture to be played at Mumbai Football Arena since its renovation, the Blue Tigers conceded an early penalty but came back to win in emphatic fashion – prompting calls on Twitter to host future World Cup qualifiers in Andheri where they would hopefully have better luck than they did in Bengaluru.
The only team in need of luck in this encounter though were Puerto Rico who went in 3 – 1 down at half time and were fortunate to finish the match with only four goals conceded. Be sure to catch the two fantastic free kicks by Sunil Chhetri that set India on their way in the highlights above.