| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | India |
| Dates | 17 August – 29 August |
| Teams | 5 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | India (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Syria |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 41 (3.73 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Zyad Chaabo (5 goals) |
The 2007 Nehru Cup International Football Tournament also known as the ONGC Nehru Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by ONGC, was the 13th edition of the Nehru Cup a tournament organized by the All India Football Federation since 1982. It was the first Nehru Cup after a ten year break from 1997 to 2007.
The tournament was played in the round-robin league format and the final was slated for August 29 in which India defeated Syria to claim its first title. Along with the host nation India, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Syria and Kyrgyzstan also competed in the 13-day tournament at the refurbished Ambedkar Stadium, where new floodlights have been put up specially for this tournament.
The total prize money of the tournament was $100,000. The champion team takes away a prize of $40,000, the runners-up receive $20,000 while the third place team will get $10,000. The winning team of every match received $2,500.
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The Nehru Cup campaign started with an Indian 6-0 victory over the less experienced Cambodian side. India's Sunil Chhetri and Steven Dias had a great game, each of them netting twice. Baichung Bhutia had produced a wonderful performance in the match. Most of the game was played on the Cambodian side of the pitch. It was expected that India was going to take this one and they did with their second biggest recorded victory. Steven Dias was "Man of the match".
Syria started this tournament with a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh, followed by three consecutive wins over Kyrgyzstan, hosts India and Cambodia. The four wins saw Syria topping the round-roubin standings with a perfect record of 12 out of 12 points. They experienced Syrian side was led by their best goalscorers Zyad Chaabo, who scored 5 out of 14 goals for his team and Maher Al Sayed with four goals.
Hosts India, after beating Cambodia, enjoyed another win over neighbouring Bangladesh. After losing to Syira, the decisive game for the second final spot was held between the Indian team and Kyrgyzstan. India won that game 3-0 and advanced. The goals were scored by the Indian forwards Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Abhishek Yadav. This defeat saw the Central Asian side finishing third, while Bangladesh and Cambodia finished fourth and fifth place respectively having played a 1 all draw in their game.
The Nehru Cup final between India and Syria was held on August 29, 2007 in New Delhi. India defeated their opponents 1-0 thanks to a goal from N. P. Pradeep and won their first ever Nehru Cup trophy. The Indian team received 40,000 US-Dollar for winning this tournament.
All games of the tournament were broadcast live by Zee Sports.
Teams in green field progress to the Final.
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syria | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 |
| India | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 |
| Cambodia | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 16 | −11 |
| August 17, 2007 18:30 IST |
India | 6 – 0 | Cambodia | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Kamkanamge (Sri Lanka) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pradeep 16' Bhutia 45+2' (pen.) Dias 72' 89' Chhetri 82' 84' |
| August 18, 2007 19:00 IST |
Bangladesh | 0 – 2 | Syria | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Arjunan (India) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Sayed 48' Chaabo 79' |
| August 19, 2007 19:00 IST |
Kyrgyzstan | 4 – 3 | Cambodia | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Suresh (India) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsaliev 12' Mamatov 17' Djamshidov 48' Harchenko 65' |
Sotitya 34' Rithy 40' Chum 43' |
| August 20, 2007 19:00 IST |
India | 1 – 0 | Bangladesh | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Surendra (Nepal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhutia 5' |
| August 21, 2007 19:00 IST |
Syria | 4 – 1 | Kyrgyzstan | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Suresh (India) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Sayed 7' Chaabo 44' Al Zeno 70' Al Hasan 82' |
Diab 13' (o.g.) |
| August 22, 2007 19:00 IST |
Bangladesh | 1 – 1 | Cambodia | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Arjunan (India) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abul Hussain 30' | Kasal 90' |
| August 23, 2007 19:00 IST |
India | 2 – 3 | Syria | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Surendra (Nepal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chhetri 13' Ajayan 81' |
Al Baba 23' Chaabo 45+1' 65' |
| August 24, 2007 19:00 IST |
Bangladesh | 0 – 3 | Kyrgyzstan | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Suresh (India) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lutfullaev 28' 54' Djamshidov 57' |
| August 25, 2007 19:00 IST |
Cambodia | 1 – 5 | Syria | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Kamkanamge (Sri Lanka) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vathanak 69' | Al Zeno 25' Chaabo 35' Al Sayed 51' 86' Jenyat 80' |
| August 26, 2007 19:00 IST |
India | 3 – 0 | Kyrgyzstan | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Surendra (Nepal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhutia 39' Chhetri 60' Yadav 90+3' |
| August 29, 2007 18:00 IST |
India | 1 – 0 | Syria | Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi Referee: Surendra (Nepal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pradeep 44' |
| Nehru Cup 2007 Champion |
|---|
India First title |
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5 goals: 4 goals: 3 goals: 2 goals: 1 goal:
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1 goal:
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