King's Cup: India Lose 0-1 to Lebanon to Finish Last

Chiang Mai: A 77th-minute strike by Kaseem Al Zein put paid to India’s hopes of retaining the third place in the King’s Cup football tournament as Lebanon emerged 1-0 winners on Sunday. Lebanon, who couldn’t get the better of India in their last two meetings in Bhubaneswar and Bangalore, proved to be third-time lucky despite the Blue Tigers putting immense pressure on the rival defence, especially during the closing stages.

Just when it looked like India would force open the Lebanon defence at any moment, things completely went the other way as the west Asian side made most of a corner kick.

While Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu managed to palm away the first attempt, he had no time to do an encore when Kaseem Al Zein went for a spectacular acrobatic back volley from close range.