India-Uruguay Friendly Resumes After Lightning Delay, Uruguay Lead 2-1

India’s friendly against Uruguay resumed after a lightning interruption, with Uruguay leading 2-1 and Thapa having scored for the Blue Tigers, according to a Sportstar live update.

The update said the Uruguayan players were passing the ball around the back as they sought to see out the half before the referee blew the whistle.

Sportstar described India’s performance as solid and said Khalid Jamil’s men would believe they could still get something out of the game.

The live update also said that two errors at the back had handed Uruguay two goals, while India had responded strongly, particularly while going forward.

The match is the second high-profile friendly for India in three days against South American opposition, following the team’s 0-4 defeat to Brazil at the same venue.

India face another heavyweight after Brazil

India entered the Uruguay game after a difficult night against Brazil, a match that remained with defender Akash Mishra even after the final whistle.

Mishra said he did not sleep after the Brazil game and spent the night watching the match.

He said he slept in the morning before waking early for his recovery, speaking on Monday, a little over 24 hours before India were due to face Uruguay.

India had lost the Brazil match 4-0, and Mishra said he had not exchanged shirts with a Brazilian player because he had been feeling bad after the defeat.

When asked whether he might reconsider, Mishra said, “Now, maybe. But after the game, I was not feeling good.”

The Brazil match had also been the occasion for which Indian football had waited, but the result left little room for celebration inside the India camp.

The Uruguay fixture followed three nights after the Brazil game at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on October 6, 2026.

The game brought down the curtain on a sequence of matches against three teams that featured at the 2026 World Cup.

Uruguay were described as two-time world champions, making the fixture another meeting with one of world football’s heavyweight names.

For India, the live score reported by Sportstar showed a match in which defensive errors had proved costly but in which the team had continued to offer a threat going forward.

Jamil stresses concentration

India coach Khalid Jamil repeatedly returned to the need for concentration before the Uruguay match.

He said India had stayed competitive for long periods against Brazil but had been punished when the margins slipped.

Jamil warned that similar lapses against Uruguay could again prove expensive.

“One mistake will cost us very badly,” the India coach said.

“We have to be very careful,” Jamil added.

The Sportstar update provided a match-time example of the concern Jamil had expressed, saying that a couple of errors at the back had given Uruguay two goals.

At the same time, the update said India had responded brilliantly, especially in attack.

That combination, Uruguay’s advantage from India’s mistakes and India’s response while going forward, formed the central pattern of the match in the available live update.

Mishra had rejected the idea that the short turnaround should become an excuse for India.

“This is what the game demands from the players,” he said.

He said the team had to play whether the gap was two days or three days and had to be ready to perform well.

Mishra also said India had not prepared only for Brazil.

“We know the capabilities of all the teams, and we have to perform at our best level,” he said.

The defender described the sequence as two matches completed and one remaining, adding that India had to finish on a “very, very good note.”

A demanding run of fixtures

The Uruguay game was part of an unusual run in which India faced Brazil and Uruguay, while also being connected to a wider set of matches involving teams that featured at the 2026 World Cup.

The All India Football Federation’s AIFF.com report presented the fixture as the final match in that sequence and as another opportunity for India to measure itself against an elite opponent.

The report said what remained was another football match, another elite opponent and one last chance to show that the week had involved more than simply sharing a pitch with famous names.

India had begun the international window with a gritty 1-1 draw against Panama, according to the Telegraph report.

Uruguay, under Diego Forlan, had begun his tenure with a 1-3 defeat to Japan.

Four days later, Forlan’s side responded by beating South Korea 4-1.

The available reports therefore placed the India-Uruguay match after contrasting results for the two teams during the international window.

India had drawn with Panama, lost to Brazil and then faced Uruguay, while Forlan’s side had followed its defeat to Japan with a 4-1 win over South Korea.

Against Brazil, India had shown flashes of promise, with Ryan Williams and Manvir Singh providing bright moments before the five-time world champions moved to an effortless victory.

The report did not describe the Brazil defeat as an even contest overall, but it did record those moments from Williams and Manvir.

The Uruguay match began with India again facing a team carrying a significant international reputation.

Sparse crowd at Salt Lake Stadium

The match also drew attention away from the pitch because of the small crowd at the 68,000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium.

Many seats remained empty across the lower, middle and upper tiers, with only a handful of supporters scattered through the stadium, the Telegraph reported.

The report described the sight as unusually subdued for Kolkata, where routine ISL and I-League fixtures can generate a livelier atmosphere.

The sparse turnout came despite an effort by the AIFF to bring more people into the stands.

After the subdued response to India’s 0-4 defeat to Brazil at the same venue, organisers cut ticket prices for the Uruguay match by about 90 per cent in some blocks.

Tickets that had been priced at Rs 749 onwards were offered for Rs 199.

Complimentary passes were also distributed for the fixture.

Among those passes were 22,000 given to people who had bought tickets for last year’s ill-fated Lionel Messi tour of Kolkata.

Even with those measures, the stadium had about 15000 people in attendance at kickoff, according to the report.

The Telegraph said the empty sections were difficult to ignore because the Brazil fixture had already shown that a famous football name alone would not guarantee a packed Salt Lake Stadium.

For the Brazil match, tickets had been priced between Rs 1,500 and Rs 25,000.

That pricing strategy attracted considerable criticism, while large numbers of tickets in the Rs 3,500-and-above categories remained unsold when the match began.

The cheapest Brazil tickets had sold out, but more than half the stadium was empty at the start of the game.

The crowd eventually increased as the Brazil match progressed, and official attendance was announced at 51,402 after many complimentary passes were distributed.

The report said the official number presented one picture, while the early images from the stadium presented another.

The Uruguay match appeared to be following an even less flattering pattern, with about 15000 present at kickoff despite lower prices and free passes.

Forlan returns to Kolkata

Uruguay’s dugout added another layer to the occasion, with Diego Forlan serving as coach after taking over from Marcelo Bielsa following Uruguay’s shock group-stage exit at the 2026 World Cup.

Forlan was described as Uruguay’s most renowned footballer and as the winner of the 2010 World Cup Golden Ball.

He had returned to Kolkata after a decade.

Forlan had previously played for Mumbai City at the Ravindra Sarobar Stadium and had experienced a period when football in the city was associated with packed stands and intense passion during his ISL stint.

“I remember that every time the team was playing here, the stadium was full,” Forlan said.

He also recalled the passion for football in Kerala, Goa and the Northeast.

Forlan said, “They are really passionate about football. They have good players as well.”

He added, “It was a good rival for us to come here and play. And I really enjoyed it.”

He also said he could feel how keen the cities he had mentioned were about football.

The attendance for the Uruguay match, however, was recorded as a different picture from the packed stands Forlan remembered.

Fans seek a different experience

Some supporters who had been disappointed by the chaotic Messi GOAT Tour in Kolkata last year were seen queuing for complimentary passes for the Uruguay friendly.

Among them was 37-year-old IT employee Rahul Adhikari.

Adhikari said he was happy to have received something in return, while acknowledging that the pass could not reproduce the excitement of the earlier occasion.

“It’s great that we got something in return, but the fervour of that day was different,” he said.

He also said that the Salt Lake Stadium had drawn packed support even for club matches.

“But I’m here as a football fan and would love to support Team India against La Celeste,” Adhikari said.

He said fans had seen Darwin Nunez and Ronald Araujo on television and that he was looking forward to watching them live.

The available reporting did not provide a final result for the India-Uruguay match.

It recorded a resumed game, a 1-2 scoreline in Uruguay’s favour, a goal by Thapa and an India side that believed it could still get something from the contest.