India and Uruguay are set to lock horns in a FIFA friendly match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday. The upcoming match will be the last of India’s three high-profile friendlies in the ongoing September-October window.
had played out a 1-1 draw against Panama in Bengaluru on 25 September, before going down 0-4 to five-time world champions Brazil in Kolkata on 3 October.
India and have faced off only once in international football, during the 1982 Nehru Cup group stage match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India went down 3-1 to Uruguay.
India did take on Uruguay in another friendly tournament in 2001, but that wasn’t an official FIFA friendly match. That was in the Millennium Super Soccer Cup, a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, but the matches didn’t have status because many teams sent their B teams.
We now take a look at what happened the last time India faced Uruguay in an official FIFA friendly.
India and Uruguay last met in men’s international football on 25 February, 1982, when the two sides faced each other at Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the inaugural Nehru Cup. Uruguay won the match 3-1, but the game also saw India find the net against a side that would go on to win the tournament.
Uruguay had made a strong start to the competition before meeting India, beating Yugoslavia B 1-0 in their opening game and drawing 2-2 against South Korea and 0-0 against China. India, meanwhile, had drawn 1-1 with China, drawn 2-2 with South Korea and lost 0-1 to Italy Amateur before the Uruguay encounter.
Uruguay made a faster start at Eden Gardens. Jorge da Silva opened the scoring in the eighth minute and struck again in the 23rd minute, putting Uruguay 2-0 ahead inside the opening half-hour. Da Silva was one of Uruguay’s key attacking players during the tournament and eventually finished the match against India with both of his side’s first two goals.
India responded before half-time. Manas Bhattacharya pulled a goal back in the 35th minute, reducing the deficit to 2-1. Bhattacharya was one of India’s important attacking players during the tournament and had also scored in the 2-2 draw against South Korea.
India’s comeback hopes, however, were ended in the 70th minute. Uruguay substitute Mario Saralegui scored to restore the two-goal advantage and make it 3-1. Saralegui had entered the match at half-time, replacing Amaro Nadal, before scoring in the second half.
The 3-1 result gave Uruguay two points and maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament.
They subsequently defeated Italy Amateur 3-2 in their next league match, then beat China 2-0 in the final on 4 March to become champions of the inaugural Nehru Cup. India finished fifth in the six-team competition with one win, two draws and two defeats.
