SportsPosted at: Oct 5 2026 9:42PM


Sleepless after Brazil, Akash Mishra turns focus to Uruguay

Kolkata, Oct 5 (UNI) The Brazil game was over, the photographs had been taken, and the occasion that Indian football had waited so long for was already slipping into history. But for Akash Mishra, there was little romance left once the final whistle had gone. India had lost 4-0.
“I didn’t sleep. I was watching the game all night. I slept in the morning, and then I had to wake up early and do my recovery,” Mishra said on Monday, a little over 24 hours before India face another of world football’s heavyweight names, Uruguay. It perhaps said more about India’s mood than any elaborate declaration about learning from playing Brazil.
Mishra had also resisted the temptation to collect a souvenir from the night. When asked if he had exchanged shirts with any Brazilian player, his answer was simple. “No. As I said, I was feeling really bad after the loss, so I didn’t.”
Would he reconsider now? “Now, maybe. But after the game, I was not feeling good.”
There is hardly time for regret. Three nights after confronting Brazil, India return to the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Tuesday, against two-time world champions Uruguay, bringing down the curtain on a remarkable sequence of matches against three teams that featured at the 2026 World Cup.
Khalid Jamil repeatedly returned to one word on Monday: concentration.
Against Brazil, India stayed competitive for long periods but were punished when the margins slipped. Against Uruguay, Jamil knows those lapses could again be expensive. “One mistake will cost us very badly,” the India coach said. “We have to be very careful.”
Mishra, meanwhile, insisted that the short turnaround cannot become an excuse. “This is what the game demands from the players,” he said. “We have to play whether it’s two days or three days. We have to be ready to perform well.
“There is nothing like we were only prepared for Brazil,” he said. “We know the capabilities of all the teams, and we have to perform at our best level. Two are done, one more to go, and we have to finish on a very, very good note.”
For India, that may be the defining mood before the final game.
What remains is another football match, another elite opponent, and one last chance to show that this unusual week has been about more than simply sharing a pitch with famous names.
UNI BM
Tags: #Sleepless after Brazil# Akash Mishra turns focus to Uruguay
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