 "'Khalid Jamil chapter kicks off in style': Indian football team feted for historic victory over Oman in CAFA Nations Cup")
India signed off from the CAFA Nations Cup on Monday the same way they had begun – with a victory, finishing third in the tournament and collecting the bronze medal in the process. The significance of the two victories, however, couldn’t be more different.
The 2-1 victory over co-hosts Tajikistan on 29 August , in which defenders Anwar Ali and Sandesh Jhingan had taken the opposition by surprise and scored inside the first 15 minutes, helped begin Khalid Jamil’s tenure as head coach on winning note. The Blue Tigers would then be handed a reality check in the form of a 0-3 thrashing at the hands of Asian heavyweights Iran, which was followed by a goalless draw against Afghanistan.
India had the opportunity to sign off with a victory after advancing to the next round despite finishing level on 4 points with Tajikistan, thanks to their victory over the tournament co-hosts earlier in the tournament. The only problem was that they were up against Oman – a team that sat 54 places above them on the FIFA rankings at 79, and also a team they had never beaten in 10 previous meetings.
Udanta’s equaliser turns the tide in India’s favour
And for a fleeting moment, it appeared as if the match against Oman would head down the same route as the loss against Iran, in which the Indian defence had managed to keep the scoreline 0-0 at half-time, only to unravel after conceding around the hour mark.
Jamil’s Blue Tigers, however, were in no mood to repeat the mistakes against Iran. Not only were they able to limit the damage after Jameel Al-Yahmadi broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, Udanta Singh made an instant impact as a substitute by scoring the equaliser with a diving header in the 81st minute.
The Indians were an upbeat side after Udanta’s equaliser, and managed to keep the Reds at bay to not only take the game into extra time but into the penalty shootout. The trio of Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rahul Bheke and Jithin MS would then score in the shootout while Gurpreet Singh Sandhu managed to block the last shot, taken by Al-Yahmadi, to seal India’s maiden victory over Oman.
What made the victory even sweeter for the Indians was the fact that in addition to the gulf in rankings, they had beaten a side coached by Carlos Queiroz, the man who had managed Real Madrid’s ‘Galacticos’ generation from 2003 to 2004 and has also worked alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal coach.
The result was cause for celebration across the Indian football community, with the official account of the Indian Super League as well as clubs such as Punjab FC joining fans in congratulating Jamil, Sandhu and the rest of the Blue Tigers for believing in themselves and pulling off a victory that was much-needed at a time when the sport is in a state of crisis in the cricket-mad nation.
How the Indian football community reacted to the victory over Oman
Here are select reactions to India’s triumph over Oman:
𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝑬𝑹𝑨 𝑯𝑨𝑺 𝑱𝑼𝑺𝑻 𝑩𝑬𝑮𝑼𝑵! 🇮🇳🥉
— Punjab FC (@RGPunjabFC) September 8, 2025
Congrats to #BlueTigers on defeating 79th ranked Oman on penalties and finishing 3️⃣rd at the #CAFANationsCup2025. #INDOMA #TheShers #PunjabFC pic.twitter.com/31os3tgwp0
The Khalid Jamil chapter kicks off in style 🙌
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) September 8, 2025
A podium finish for @IndianFootball in the #CAFANationsCup on debut! 🇮🇳#INDOMA #CAFANationsCup2025 #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #BlueTigers #KhalidJamil pic.twitter.com/xRGvAn9ySF
India (133) were the second-lowest ranked team at the CAFA Nations Cup, a tournament that had two World Cup teams -- Iran, Uzbekistan expectedly playing the final -- and Oman, still fighting for a place at next year's FIFA World Cup.#IndianFootball
— Marcus Mergulhao (@MarcusMergulhao) September 8, 2025
Remember the name Gurpreet Singh Sandhu💪🏻
— Bruce Wayne (@_Bruce__007) September 8, 2025
Gurpreet Paaji The Wall 🇮🇳 won us the bronze medal in CAFA Nations Cup😭#CAFANationsCup2025 #INDOMA #indianfootball https://t.co/StkYRnzcI4 pic.twitter.com/vsMkiMcFat
- India were the 2nd lowest ranked team in the competition😲
— Aditya Warty (@AnalystAdi) September 8, 2025
- India had never beaten Oman in the previous 10 clashes✖️
We now have a medal at the #CAFANationsCup DEBUT without scoring a single goal from open-play🔥
Football, BLOODY HELL! 🎉#INDOMA#IndianFootball #BlueTigers pic.twitter.com/GoERmpeCyh
Finally after winning so many SAFF championships. We have finally won something outside of India. 🥹🇮🇳
— Zeel Shah (@ZeelShaah) September 8, 2025
Thank you Gurpreet Paaji @GurpreetGK. 🧱❤️#indianfootaball #CAFANationsCup2025#INDOMApic.twitter.com/QXpRoG0Z9l https://t.co/XPbnNZhQN8
Gurpreet's save which gave us the bronze medal in #CAFANationsCup2025
— Abdul Rahman Mashood (@abdulrahmanmash) September 8, 2025
Finally something to celebrate for Indian Football Men's senior team😭#IndianFootball #INDOMApic.twitter.com/tRKvKQsTKn
India won against Oman in penalties, finished 3rd in CAFA Cup, What a brilliant game it was and amazing campaign under coach Khalid Jamil. We learned many things here and definitely will improve. I'm sure all fans are very happy and proud. 🥳⚽️🇮🇳
— Dhanraj Dhurve (@DhanrajDhurve) September 8, 2025
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