Asian Champions Trophy 2026, India vs Japan Final: IND 1-1 JPN; Shilanand scores

Dilpreet Singh strikes and puts India in the lead. 

Low cross comes in from Jugraj Singh.

India finds the equaliser they were searching for. in this third quarter. All to play for in the fourth quarter. 

Harmanpreet enters the circle and plays the ball towards Sukhjeet, who holds his position and tries to deflect it, but the chance goes to waste.

The crowd has come alive, with emotions running high in the stands. Some of the children and school students who have turned up to cheer on India in this final are in tears.

India has broken through. Shilanand Lakra has equalised for India.

Hardik Singh with injection. Harmanpreet to Sukhjeet, a variation comes in. 

Aditya at the edge of the line with a reverse flick to Shilanand right in the middle to tap it into the empty net, and India equalises.

The umpire has gone upstairs for a referral. 

Hardik with the injection, and Harmanpreet takes a shot and once again it is Kisho with the save. 

Penalty corner for India. The goalkeeper comes out but scrambles it. 

It was Dilpreet in the middle of things for India. 

Matsumoto with injection and a shot comes in and it is defended by Amit Rohidas. 

PC review for Japan. 

Ball comes off the foot of Jugraj from his own stick, and it will be another PC for Japan. 

Hardik Singh injects the ball, and Harmanpreet takes the shot, but Kisho makes a good reflex save.

India wins a Penalty Corner. 

Vivek passes the ball to Shilanand but his touch was too heavy and the ball runs away from him. 

The second half of the match starts now. Shilanand Lakra gets things going. 

Japan has had just one shot on target and has made it count. While the match has been evenly contested, India’s plans have yet to produce the desired results, and head coach Craig Fulton will need to make adjustments at half-time. Japan has been solid and disciplined in defence, keeping things tight at the back without conceding a penalty corner.

India is being test in this final match. India is trailing 1-0 in this match. 

Hardik Singh beats three defenders and plays the ball across the face of goal, but Dilpreet can’t convert the opportunity.

Harmanpreet takes a free hit from outside the circle, and the ball reaches Dilpreet, whose shot is deflected over the goal for a long corner.

Hardik drives inside with the ball as Vishnu calls for it up front, but the pass is too quick for Vishnu to get his stick out in time to collect it.

Japan is playing with a a packed defence here. India is still searching for its first PC of the match. 

It is captain vs captain, Harmanpreet had his hands behind the back of Fujishima and pushed him off balance and it leads to another PC for Japan.

Japan retains its referall succesfully. 

PC is taken and Fujishima with the shot and long corner for Japan. 

Kentaro dribbles with the ball inside, and Dilpreet kicks it and PC for Japan. 

PC is taken, and is being reviewed for a push in favour of Japan. 

Angad cuts inside from the right and plays the ball into the middle, but Watanabe intercepts once again. India is still searching for a breakthrough.

Watanabe stands firm, keeping pace with Sukhjeet and denying him the space to turn and shoot.

Goalkeeper Kisho once again saves Hardik’s shot in the final action of the first quarter.

Sanjay runs down the left flank, finds Harmanpreet in the middle and wins a free hit. A shot follows, but it comes off the goalkeeper.

Indian players are crowding the umpire and have requested a review for a penalty corner, claiming that one of their players was brought down inside the circle. It was Shilanand against Watanabe. 

The review is revoked, and India has lost its referall in the first quarter. 

Vivek slaps a hard pass into the circle, but Dilpreet can’t collect it, and the chance goes to waste.

Harmanpreet’s long passes yielded good returns for India against Korea yesterday, but they aren’t working so far today. The skipper just tried another long pass, but no Indian player was in the right position to collect it.

Abhishek is on the field now and straight into the thick of the action. He collects the ball, turns and takes a shot, but it goes just wide of the post. He gets the power right but not the placement.

Hardik passes ball to Amandeep who scoops the ball from the left hand side all the way to the right, but it is too quick for Aditya to collect, and the chance is wasted. 

Seren and Hiro combine well stitching long passes in the left side. Japan is pushing well in this first quarter. 

What a brilliant backhander shot from Matsumoto, who scores the match’ first goal to give Japan the lead. 

Japan with pace from the right, drives inside the circle with Matsumoto but the Indian defenders are there to clear the danger. 

Japan in blue attacking from right to left in first quarter. 

The capacity crowd at the stadium in Mohali, which is hosting its second international match, is in full voice as the Indian national anthem rings around the venue. The pre-match formalities are complete, and we are all set for the Asian Champions Trophy final, with the title at stake!

Hardik Singh is being felicitated by the dignitaries ahead of his 200th international appearance. It is a special occasion for the hometown midfielder, who was a ball boy at this very venue 13 years ago and now returns to play the Asian Champions Trophy final for India.

The players are on the field, with Japan sporting its blue kit and India in orange. The teams are being introduced to the packed crowd at the stadium in Mohali.

Japan booked its place in the final after defeating Malaysia 5-3 in a shootout on Wednesday. Neither side could break the deadlock during regulation time, with the semifinal ending goalless after 60 minutes. 

Abhishek, who has been recovering from an injury and did not play in the semifinal against Korea, starts on the bench with Amit Rohidas, Angad Singh, Amandeep Lakra, Vishnukant Singh, and Arjun Aditya.

Japan: Shota Yamada, Seren Tanaka, Jun Watanabe, Kazumasa, Yuma Nagai, Manabu Y, Raiki Fujishima, Ryoma, Tsubasa, Kisho Kuroda, Motoya Y.

Harmanpreet Singh (C), Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Jugraj Singh, Vivek Prasad, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay, Suraj Karkera (GK), Shilanand Lakra.

The Asian Champions Trophy 2026 final against Japan will mark the end of veteran Indian midfielder Nilakanta Sharma’s international career. A Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and two-time Asian Games gold medallist, Nilakanta has also been part of India’s Asian Champions Trophy-winning campaigns in 2023 and 2024.

India is attempting to win the Asian Champions Trophy for a third successive edition. The team defeated Malaysia 4-3 in the 2023 final in Chennai before edging China 1-0 in the 2024 clash, with Jugraj Singh scoring the winner in the 51st minute.

Although India eventually won 4-1, Japan made life difficult during their league-stage match. The scores remained level at 1-1 until the 47th minute, when Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner. India’s next two goals came in the final nine minutes.

India and Japan last met on October 30 in Jalandhar, where the host registered a 4-1 victory. Abhishek scored twice, while Harmanpreet Singh and Vishnu Kant Singh added a goal each. Shota Yamada converted a penalty stroke for Japan.

Hello and welcome to the final of the Asian Champions Trophy, with defending champion India taking on Japan. Harmanpreet’s side is unbeaten in the tournament and comes into the final after defeating Korea 8-1 on Wednesday.