Syria and India will square off for the first time at the Asian Cup on the final matchday of Group B play on Tuesday at Al Bayt Stadium.
Heading into this encounter, the Syrians are third in the group following a 1-0 loss to Australia, a point above the Blue Tigers, who suffered their second defeat of the tournament, 3-0 against Uzbekistan.
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The Syrians defended admirably against the Socceroos on Thursday, but it was not enough as they conceded just one effort on target and still lost.
That was their first defeat of 2024, and it extends their winless run to five successive matches in all competitions.
A victory on Tuesday would not only be the first for this nation in the group stage of this tournament since 2011, but it would also ensure they qualify for the knockout stage for the first time.
Under Hector Cuper, 10 of their 12 matches played have been decided by a goal or fewer, with Syria emerging victorious on only two occasions.
They have scored a goal or fewer in nine matches since Cuper took charge, while they have yet to net an opening-half strike in five successive encounters in all competitions.
It has been over 14 years since they have got the better of India, claiming a 1-0 triumph in an August 2009 friendly.
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We saw a strong 45 minutes from India for a second successive match, but some mental lapses in the other half proved to be their undoing.
This time, though, it was the opening half which did them in, with the Blue Tigers conceding after only four minutes and down by three at the interval.
India have lost every Asian Cup group fixture in which they were behind at the half, while they have yet to win a match in this competition when failing to score in the opening half.
In the 21st century, India have never won their final Asian Cup group fixture, scoring only once on those two previous occasions.
Since capturing the South Asian Football Federation Championship in July 2023, Igor Stimac has seen his side win only one of their subsequent five fixtures, having been outscored 8-0 in their last three games.
The Blue Tigers need a victory to have any hope of advancing, but with a -5 goal differential, they will either need to win by multiple goals or get a lot of help in the other matches.
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Cuper went with the same starting 11 for Syria from matchday one to two, with just one newcomer featuring against the Soceroos as Antonio Yakoub saw his first action of the tournament, replacing Ibrahim Hesar in the latter stages.
Ammar Ramadan reached the double-digit mark for caps in that contest, and Fahd Youssef moved to within eight caps of 50, coming on as a substitute in place of Mahmoud Al Aswad, who made just his third appearance for the national team.
Omar Khribin came on for Pablo Sabbag in the 65th minute but remains one goal behind Zyad Chaabo for fifth all time.
Lallianzuala Chhangte and Amrinder Singh reportedly sustained knocks in training, causing them to miss India’s match versus Uzbekistan.
That adds to the long list of injuries for this team, which had already been without Anisa Anwar Ali and Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, who were not selected due to injuries before this tournament began.
From matchday one to two, there were three changes to the Blue Tigers starting 11 with Akash Mishra, Anirudh Thapa and Naorem Mahesh Singh coming in for Subhasish Bose, Deepak Tangri and Chhangte.
Syria possible starting lineup:
Madania; Weiss, Ousou, Krouma, Ajan; Al Aswad, Elias, Ham, Ramadan; Khribin, Hesar
India possible starting lineup:
Sandhu; Poojary, Jhingan, Bheke, Mishra; Wangjam, Tangri; M. Singh, Samad, Kumam; Chhetri
Injuries and mental lapses have come back to bite India throughout the tournament, and Syria do not make nearly as many mistakes as the Blue Tigers, which is why we are giving the Syrians the edge in this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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