Uruguay Outclasses India 6-1 in Weather-Disrupted Friendly Despite Brief Thapa Spark

Xtra Time Newsdesk: An early penalty, a sudden thunderstorm, and a relentless second-half blitz saw Uruguay dominate India 6-1 in an international football encounter filled with drama, weather delays, and a clinical offensive display by the South Americans.

Dressed in their orange away kit, India struggled early. In the 11th minute, a mistimed sliding challenge by Pramveer inside the penalty box caught Federico Vinas, prompting the referee to point straight to the spot. Darwin Nunez stepped up, calmly converting the penalty to open the scoring. India grew into the game, and their resilience paid off in the 22nd minute. Ryan Williams won possession in midfield and unleashed a powerful drive. While Uruguayan keeper Thiago Cardozo managed the initial save, he spilled the rebound directly into the path of Anirudh Thapa, who tapped it home to equalise.

Just as momentum shifted, a heavy thunderstorm forced the referee to pause the match, sending both teams to the dressing rooms. The weather delay proved detrimental to India’s rhythm. Almost immediately after the restart in the 29th minute, Rodrigo Bentancur found Nahitan Nandez out wide, who crossed perfectly for

Maximilian Araujo to restore Uruguay's lead. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu kept India in the game before halftime, notably blocking a one-on-one chip from Nunez with his face to keep the score 2-1.

The second half, however, was a complete defensive collapse for India. Uruguay struck swiftly in the 53rd and 59th minutes to put the game out of reach at 4-1, prompting frustration from the crowd. The onslaught continued in the 71st minute when Juan Sanabria slotting home a fifth, leading to a late goalkeeper substitution as Albino Gomes replaced Gurpreet. Rodrigo Aguirre added a spectacular sixth from outside the box to close the whistle at a bruising 1-6 final score.