India fight back to draw with UAE in AFC Championship

Dubai: India fought back for a thrilling 1-1 draw against the UAE to keep alive their hopes in the AFC Under-22 Football Championships being held in Muscat.

Iraq head Group A with nine points followed by the UAE with seven points. Hosts Oman are on six points, while India are two points behind in fourth place.

India’s next opponents are Turkmenistan at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium at 5pm on Saturday, while UAE face Lebanon and Iraq and Oman take on each other.

Meanwhile, a first-half strike from Esmail Al Hammadi gave the UAE Olympic team a 1-0 win against FC Sion in the first of their friendly matches in Switzerland on Thursday.

Al Hammadi, one of three seniors in the Under-23 squad heading to London, scored the solitary goal in the 37th minute.