India vs New Zealand football: Christchurch rematch on Sunday after 5-0 defeat

The India vs New Zealand football series moves to Christchurch, where Khalid Jamil’s side meet the All Whites for a second time on Sunday, 15 November, three days after a 5-0 defeat in Auckland. The squad was due to travel south on Friday, 13 November. Kick-off at One New Zealand Stadium is 4.10 pm local time, which is 8.40 am in India.

The opening friendly at Go Media Stadium on Thursday, 12 November, was the first game India have played in New Zealand. The hosts were ahead inside five minutes, when a goalmouth scramble ended with the ball going in off defender Bijoy Varghese. Jesse Randall struck twice before the interval, first in the 34th minute and again in the 43rd. Chris Wood headed the fourth after 57 minutes, and Lachlan Bayliss added a fifth with a volley.

Kaith keeps the margin down

It could have been heavier. Vishal Kaith, back in India’s goal, kept out a series of shots and then stopped a 78th-minute penalty from Bill Tuiloma before smothering the rebound. Anirudh Thapa wore the captain’s armband, his first match in the role since 2018. In the 19th minute Manvir Singh was ready to shoot inside the box, but Callan Elliott stopped him with a block.

Jamil replaced five players at half-time, and four men won their first India caps: Ricky Meetei Haobam and Muhammad Suhail after the break, then forward David Lalhlansanga and Tomba Singh Haobam in the closing stages.

Thursday’s game was only the third between the two countries. They played out a 0-0 draw in Malaysia at the Merdeka Tournament of 1981, and New Zealand won 2-1 in Mumbai at the Intercontinental Cup of 2018. The trip is India’s first to a member of the Oceania Football Confederation since two friendlies in Fiji in 2005. New Zealand’s 2026 World Cup brought a draw with Iran and defeats by Egypt and Belgium.

Two more Indian teams play on Saturday

Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and winger Liston Colaco left India’s SAFF Championship squad in Dhaka to join this tour. Without them, Naushad Moosa’s team beat Maldives 1-0 on Wednesday, 11 November, with a Suhail Ahmad Bhat penalty, and topped Group B with six points. Their semi-final opponents are Bhutan, with kick-off at 2.30 pm IST on Saturday, 14 November.

India’s under-17 team won their first AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifier 4-2 against Singapore in Kuala Lumpur on the same Wednesday, with captain Gangte netting three of the four goals. They play Guam at 1 pm IST on Saturday.