Kings Cup 2023 | India lose to Iraq in penalty shootout after conceding debatable penalty, face Lebanon in bronze medal playoff

India were leading 2-1 till the 79th minute when the referee awarded a soft penalty to Iraq.

A Sunil Chhetri-less India conceded a late goal off a debatable penalty to miss out on their first ever win over higher-ranked Iraq, who won the King's Cup semifinal clash via penalty shootout here on Thursday.

India will take on Lebanon in the bronze-medal playoff, which will be followed by the summit clash between Iraq and Thailand on Sunday.

In the other semifinal at the 700th Anniversary Stadium, Thailand defeated Lebanon 2-1.

India were leading 2-1 till the 79th minute when the referee awarded a soft penalty to Iraq after their striker Aymen Ghadhban was squeezed by two defenders inside the box during a tussle to get on to a high cross.

It did not look like a clear-cut penalty but Ghadhban himself stepped up to take the kick from the spot and scored to level the match 2-2 and take it to the penalty shootout.

Iraq then won 5-4 in the shootout with Brandon Fernandez failing to score as his kick hit the post and went out.

The defeat marked the end of India's impressive unbeaten streak of 12 matches, as they suffered their first loss of the year.