Anirudh Thapa gave India a moment to remember, but Uruguay ultimately showed their class as they swept the Blue Tigers aside 6-1 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
In front of 37,307 passionate supporters, Thapa reacted quickest to a rebound and calmly found the net to bring India level after Uruguay had taken an early lead. For a brief period, India had the two-time world champions under pressure and the Kolkata crowd dared to dream.
That moment, however, proved short-lived.
Thapa’s goal was significant beyond the scoreline. He became only the second Indian to score against Uruguay in a senior international, following Manas Bhattacharya, who scored in India’s 3-1 defeat to Uruguay in the 1982 Nehru Cup at Eden Gardens.
India began positively and refused to sit deep. Akash Mishra’s long throw caused problems early on, while Ryan Williams and Edmund Lalrindika both showed intent going forward.
Uruguay, though, soon found their rhythm. Their pressure earned them a penalty when Pramveer’s sliding challenge brought down Federico Viñas inside the box. Darwin Núñez stepped up and sent Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the wrong way to put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute.
India responded bravely. Williams won possession in midfield before driving forward, and although his shot was spilled by goalkeeper Thiago Cardozo, Thapa was alert enough to pounce on the rebound and make it 1-1.
The game was then interrupted by lightning and bad weather, with the stoppage lasting around half an hour. Uruguay wasted little time regaining control once play resumed.
Nahitan Nández delivered a low cross from the right, and Maximiliano Araújo finished from close range to restore Uruguay’s lead in the 29th minute.
India went into the break 2-1 down, with Khalid Jamil making two changes at half-time, bringing on Bijoy Varghese and Sahal Abdul Samad.
Uruguay increased the pressure after the restart. Lucas Torreira sent a ball over the defence, Núñez brought it down, and Rodrigo Zalazar fired past Sandhu to make it 3-1 in the 53rd minute.
Araújo added his second six minutes later, receiving a clever pass from Viñas before placing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
India continued to search for opportunities. Lalengmawia fired narrowly over, while Cardozo produced a sharp save to deny Mohammed Sanan and preserve Uruguay’s four-goal advantage.
Uruguay then punished India on the counter. Following an Indian corner, Facundo Pellistri raced down the right and picked out Juan Manuel Sanabria, who finished from close range in the 71st minute.
Pellistri was involved again late on, this time finding Rodrigo Aguirre, who curled a superb effort into the top-left corner to complete the scoring.
The 6-1 defeat brought India’s three-match international window to a close with a draw against Panama and defeats to Brazil and Uruguay. India scored twice and conceded 11 goals against three nations that featured at the 2026 World Cup.
The result was ultimately one-sided, but Thapa’s equaliser will remain the defining Indian moment of the night—a brief glimpse of what the Blue Tigers can produce before Uruguay demonstrated just how quickly a match at the highest level can slip away.
