Match 6

India 0 Nicaragua 1

Nicaragua take to the field in their change strip of blue, India having won the toss to keep their white shirts.

A first half that’s end to end reaches a controversial moment when India are awarded a penalty kick with seven minutes to go. The Nicaragua goalkeeper (who isn’t the heroic Marcia from yesterday) dives the wrong way, but somehow keeps the ball out with his foot. There’s more controversy moments later when the Indian penalty-taker scythes a Nicaraguan player down, before taking an outrageous dive. This doesn’t fool the referee and he’s sin=binned. India are one player down for the rest of the half. Less than a minute to go, and Nicaragua hit the bar with a header.

Into the second half, and with 10 minutes to go, Nicaragua take the lead with a simple corner that’s chipped over and headed into the net. From the kickoff, the Indian team catches the Nicaraguans napping, but somehow manage to miss side-footing the ball into an empty net.

Less than a minute to go, and it’s all Indian. Nicaragua are hanging on grimly with a series of brave tackles. They manage to see out the clock, and emerge worthy winners.

The semifinal beckons...