Kolkata, Oct. 3 -- Sometimes cliches do tell it best. Defeated not disgraced would sum up India's first ever senior men's international football match against Brazil. The five-time champions scored twice in each half and even after the 4-0 defeat India were left wondering what could have been had they taken their chances. That is an injection of reality Khalid Jamil's men can live with after an encounter that wasn't even in their dreams a little over two months ago.

In a match like this, even if you don't want to, the eye automatically goes to the clock. Yet, 26 minutes in, the teams separated by 132 places in FIFA rankings, had duelled equally when it came to corner-kicks. India and Brazil had three. By then, Manvir Singh had gone solo ...