India’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup stayed alive as they drew their third game in the third round of the qualifiers to Singapore 1-1 on Thursday (October 9) at the Singapore National Stadium in Kallang and have the chance to avoid the embarrasment tof not being part of the continential showpiece event, which will feature 24 teams and take place in Saudi Arabia.
The Blue Tigers have two points in three games so far, as they drew to Bangladesh 0-0 at home in June before losing to Hong Kong away from home. A 90th-minute equaliser by Rahim Ali helped 10-man India take a point from Singapore.
AFC Asian Cup Qualifier Third Round Table Group C
| Teams | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Points | GD |
| Singapore | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| India | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
India now has two home games left against Hong Kong and Singapore, with an away fixture against Bangladesh. They will think they are done with their toughest fixtures and will hope they can win three games. If they manage to do that, Khalid Jamil’s men will end with 11 points, which should be enough to qualify.
Infact, no team will be able to cross India’s tally if they get wins in all games apart from Hong Kong. The Sunil Chhetri-starrer team will hope that Singapore and Hong Kong play out another draw while they also ensure they increase their goal difference.
Talking about the match, Singapore, the world’s 158th-ranked team, dominated possession. While the Indian defence stood strong, the hosts took the lead in injury time of the first half with a goal from Ikhsan Fandi.
Things went from bad to worse for India with a red-card for Sandesh Jhinghan. However, Singapore missed many chances with some fine saves from Gurpeet Singh Sandhu. In the 90th minute, the home team made a costly mistake to gift an equaliser as Rahim Ali scored his first-ever goal for India.