Eighty-second minute. Colombia lead 1-0. India, after a wave of pressure, force a corner-kick. Sanjeev Stalin runs down to the flag.
For Sanjeev, an attacking midfielder converted to left back, set-pieces were a vestige of his former role. Before the World Cup, he had spoken how he hoped to curl a free-kick in. Now here he was, the ball dead at his feet, the view on goal much narrower than he would have liked.
On the edge of the box waited Jeakson Singh. The Manipuri lad came from the same Chandigarh Football Academy that produced Sanjeev. Both had been there since they were 10. How many times would they have practised this routine? Sanjeev, the dead-ball specialist curling in from the flag, Jeakson, unnaturally tall, heading them in. And here they were, in a World Cup game.
Just as Sanjeev swung at the ball, Jeakson had begun a mazy run through the box, leaving a couple of defenders behind in his wake. Ironic, for Jeakson was the one used to being left behind. When Nicolai Adam was forming the crux of this team, he took a bunch from CFA, but not Jeakson. Coaches at CFA remember that he had reservations about Jeakson's size. Too tall, who did not look his age. They tried convincing Adam that every kid at the academy had undergone MRI tests. Adam did not buy it.
What followed were difficult days for Jeakson. Coaches and fellow trainees talk about how an already-emotional teenager became even more moody. Apparently, Jeakson thought he wasn't good enough. And that was killing him.
With six months left for the tournament, Jeakson travelled with a Minerva Punjab team to take on the U-17 side in Goa. Adam had been sacked. In his place was Luis Norton de Matos and he wasn't happy with the players he had. Minerva won 1-0, Jeakson putting in an industrious shift. There is a picture, of the boy, flanked by De Matos and team COO Abhishek Yadav, the smile on his face as wide as it could get. That must have been the moment he was told that he was going to play the World Cup.
Back at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Sanjeev had found his target. A clean header left the keeper flailing. And then he ran with his arms outstretched, his teammates hot in pursuit — Jeakson Singh, India's first ever World Cup goal-scorer.
It wasn't the story of the game though. India could probably have nicked a draw. But their defence had switched off after the goal and forgotten to flick it back on. The crowd was still celebrating when Juan Penaloza sneaked in and poked the ball beyond Dheeraj Singh. This was the second time he was doing it.
India had gone into the break after having arguably the better half. Rahul KP hit the bar, Abhijit Sarkar found the tip of Kevin Mier's palms. Yet, minutes after the restart, Penaloza cut in from the right and curled it past Dheeraj, wrenching the momentum back from the hosts.
This was a loss, but as the crowd stood on their feet to applaud the players off the park, it did not feel like one. The most India could have hoped for from this tournament was what so many other countries took for granted — a World Cup moment. They had one now. Perhaps, also with thoughts of what could have been.