'Welcome to the Khalid Jamil era': India beat Tajikistan 2-1 as new coach begins tenure with winning start

The Indian football team made a dream start under new coach Khalid Jamil, beating hosts Tajikistan 2-1 in their opening match of the CAFA Nations Cup on Friday, August 29. India surprised Tajikistan despite being a lower-ranked side, thanks to two early goals from defenders Anwar Ali and Sandesh Jhingan.

The credit should also go to goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who pulled off a series of brilliant saves, including a penalty stop, to keep the lead safe. This was Jamil’s first game in charge and he couldn’t have asked for a better start. This also ended India’s run of three games without a goal.

Fans hail Khalid Jamil

Fans were quick to celebrate the victory on social media, calling it the perfect start to the Khalid Jamil era. Many hailed the team’s resilience, saying the win gave them hope for a brighter future in Indian football. Some joked about India winning a game before Manchester United and Ruben Amorim.

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THE NEW KHALID JAMIL ERA BEGINS WITH A BANG!!!! We can finally look upto our Indian Football Team with optimism and can hope for a positive future!!! Lessgoo 😭🇮🇳💙

— sohom (@AwaaraHoon) August 29, 2025

Welcome to the Khalid Jamil ERA!! #TJKIND #IndianFootball ⚽ #KhalidJamil

— GAURESH MAHADIK (@Gaureshsm53) August 29, 2025

Won a match before Manchester United lmaoooo

— Alvin (@7_Tolani) August 29, 2025

Finally after so long Indian football fans have something to be happy about.i think under Khalid ,Anwar will be the leading goal scorer

— Anuj (@Anuj_utkala) August 29, 2025

The 2-1 victory by India over Tajikistan a slightly higher ranked team will boost few rankings point for India..

— Animesh (@tapasvionmeat) August 29, 2025

Take a bow 🙇 for Khalid Jamil. Remember when your defenders score for team it’s a massive 😅🙏🏻

— Shubham Metange (@shubhammetange) August 29, 2025

Let's goo . Great show of resilience from the team 👍🏻👍🏻 hope to see more 🙏

— StretfordStorm (@Stretfordstorm) August 29, 2025

Khalid Jamil is the first Indian coach in years to take charge of the national football team. He was appointed to the top job earlier this month, replacing Spaniard Manolo Marquez, whose contract ended by mutual agreement. Prior to this, Jamil was the manager of Indian Super League (ISL) club Jamshedpur FC.