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Indian Sports Highlights, November 20: Live sports news, commentary, scores and updates

Arsene Wenger addresses the gathering at the AIFF headquarters in Delhi on Monday. AIFF MEDIA

ESPN India's daily live blog is all you need to keep up with the latest developments in Indian sport. The blog runs throughout the day and is frequently updated, so do check back often.

Here are all the key updates from November 20, Monday.


Manvir misses training ahead of Qatar game

Ahead of a huge clash for India against Qatar in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Manvir Singh missed training. Manvir, who scored the goal that won India the opening game in the group against Kuwait, played 83 minutes in that game, before being replaced by Liston Colaco.

Our correspondent Sunaadh Sagar, who is in Bhubaneswar, said that Igor Stimac began the training session with two long chats with Udanta Singh and Sunil Chhetri.

It is a blow for India, who would have been expecting Manvir's strength and speed to be of use in what is expected to be a counter-attacking system tomorrow night against Qatar.

Read our correspondent Aaditya Narayan's preview of the big game between India and Qatar tomorrow.


Wenger feels there's plenty of potential in Indian football

Arsene Wenger feels Indian football is a goldmine that needs to be explored. Speaking at the AIFF headquarters, the veteran coach said, "I was always fascinated by India. My target is to improve football in the world. And it is impossible that a country like India, 1.4 billion, is not on the football world map."

"I believe you have huge assets, fantastic qualities that make me very optimistic about what you can do here. It is absolutely fantastic to have that opportunity. And with my team, we are really highly motivated to help this country develop in the game. I'm convinced that it's possible in the very short term."

He added, "So imagine the potential that is here if we work well. And my main target here is to convince people that there is a gold mine here but at the moment it is not completely explored, exploited and encouraged."

Wenger and his team from the FIFA Talent Development Scheme are on a three-day visit to India and he will be inaugurating the AIFF-FIFA Academy in Bhubaneswar tomorrow, which is also the date for the all-crucial India vs Qatar FIFA World Cup Qualifier game.

"What will football be like in 2030? How can we imagine what our needed quality is in 2030? But what is for sure, is where we start with technique. Football is a technical sport. We have to equip the players from five to 15 with the best possible capacity to be technically at the top. That means, basically, to make it simple, is to make the ball his friend. The rest can be developed later. And this is absolutely vital.

"So, this is where we have to start and that's where we want to help people to make young players technically perfect. The start of our programme is to identify the talent and then put the best talents together," he added.


Look who's in town

Legendary manager and FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger has landed in India.


India's Maracanazo?

In footballing terms, India's World Cup loss last night has such a strong parallel to the Maracanazo -- the 1950 FIFA World Cup decisive match (de facto final) between Brazil and Uruguay.

Brazil were the strong favourites for the title and were unbeaten up until the final. Playing in front of roughly 200,000 people in the newly constructed Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, all Brazil needed was a draw to lift the World Cup. They scored the opening goal thanks to Friaca but Uruguay stunned the crowd by scoring two. Juan Alberto Schiaffino eqalised in the 66th minute and later, Alcides Ghiggia netted the winning goal in the 79th minute.

The defeat turned out to be one of Brazil's most painful sporting moments. In fact, at the Football Museum in Sao Paulo, there is a permanent exhibit to commemorate the match, where they play the radio commentary from the game which shows almost complete silence of the Maracana when Uruguay scored their second goal.

Such a great piece of history and the museum is certainly a must-visit for football fans.


The morning after

Well, it was a tough night for Rohit Sharma and his team. They dominated the tournament, qualified for the final with a 10-0 unbeaten streak but Australia did what Australia have doing for last the three decades.

Travis Head was the start of the show as his century helped his team to win sixth ODI World Cup title. That's some record.

We'll get you all the reactions from the final.

Here's the full match report - Head's magnificent 137 leads Australia to sixth World Cup title

Sidharth Monga on Australia's irrepressible trio of quicks who cemented their legacy.

Osman Samiuddin on Australia's inevitableness.

Shashank Kishore on how Travis Head tormented India again.

Sidharth Monga on whether India could've been braver with the bat.

More reaction copies and videos are here.


What's in store today?

Apart from the reaction from Cricket World Cup final reactions, expect updates from Indian football as India take on Qatar in their second FIFA World Cup Qualifier. Also, big badminton tournament starts this Tuesday -- China Masters -- which is a 750 tournament. We'll get you the draw details and other important updates.

What happened yesterday?

You can check all the details of Sunday's news events here. Here are the cliff notes:

  • Cricket: Glory for Australia as Head seals sixth World Cup title.

  • Golf: Bhullar wins Indonesia Masters.

  • I-League: Shillong Lajong FC handed Gokulam Kerala FC their first defeat of the season.