The India U-17 World Cup team was dealt with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Portuguese league leaders SL Benfica in the friendly match played on Friday.
Luis Pinheiro opened the scoring in the first half before Umero Embalo and Matos added to the tally twice in the second half. The visitors came close but bowed down to the technical superiority of the Portuguese outfit in the end.
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The Indians came close to scoring the first goal of the game within the first 15 minutes as Sanjeev delivered a pin point pass to Aniket but the striker failed to convert.
In the 26th minute, Benfica broke the deadlock as Luis Pinheiro got to the ball from a well taken corner to coolly slot it into the back of the net.
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India tried to respond through Amarjit, whose long ball found an isolated Kamal on the right flank but the latter failed to get the better of a strong Benfica backline. Rahul outclassed his marker five minutes before the break but could only direct a pile driver over the crossbar.
Benfica then doubled their lead in the 51st minute when Umero Embalo’s shot deflected off Rahul into the net. Matos added a third in the 70th much to the frustration of the hosts.
Goalkeeper Dheeraj saved further trouble for India as he brilliantly kept off the visitors from 12 yards after Hendry had conceded a penalty.
Final opportunity of the match fell to India as Saurabh’s through ball found Rahim but the striker couldn’t make a chance out of it as SL Benfica stood firm to close the game out.
