India take on Singapore in AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

The Indian Football Team takes on Singapore in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers at the National Stadium, Singapore, on Thursday (October 9). The visitors are currently languishing at the bottom of Group C having collected just a solitary point from two games, three points adrift of the hosts, who are sitting at the summit. Hence, it a crucial match for the Blue Tigers if they are to qualify for continental tournament for a third successive term. 

India are heading into the match on the back of an impressive third-place finish in the CAFA Nations Cup last month. Khalid Jamil's side got the better of Oman on penalties to secure bronze medal in Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers will be the 48-year-old tactician's first big test since taking charge of the Blue Tigers back in August. 

India didn't have a great start to their qualification campaign, sharing the spoils at home to Bangladesh before losing 1-0 away to Hong Kong. This led to the sacking to head coach Manolo Marquez. 

After the game in Singapore, the return leg will be played at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on October 14. 

"We are playing away first, so we definitely need positive result to begin with," Jamil said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. "We played CAFA last month, and that really helped us shape the team at the end of the day. All the players are professionals, so they know how to prepare and take responsibility."  

Chhetri and Jhingan returns

India began their preparations on September 20 in Bengaluru. However many players joined the camp late as clubs were reluctant to release the footballers. Meanwhile the postives are the return of Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan. 

Jhingan's return is likely to solidify the backline, while at 41 years, Chhetri is still India's best goal-scoer, having found the back of the net 17 times from 34 games for Bengaluru FC across all competitions last season. 

India enjoy slight edge over Singapore in the head-to-head record, having won 12 out of 27 encounters, while the Lions have prevailed 11 times. the last match between India and Singapore ended in a 1-1 draw in 2022.