AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: India top Group D after big win over Hong Kong

The Indian men’s football team beat Hong Kong 4-0 in its third and final Group D match of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers third round at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Anwar Ali (1’) scored his maiden goal for India while captain Sunil Chhetri (45’) scored at the stroke of half-time. Manvir Singh (84’) and Ishan Pandita (91’) then got on the scoresheet to make it India’s biggest win under coach Igor Stimac, who has been in charge of the team since 2019.

With this win, India, 106th in the FIFA rankings, leapfrogged Hong Kong for the top position in the Group D points table with nine points. Hong Kong, ranked 147th, finished second with six points from three games. 

Both India and Hong Kong had already qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 heading into the fixture.

The third round of qualifiers saw 24 teams vie for the 11 spots. The sides were divided into six groups of four teams each with the eventual group winners and five best runner-ups qualifying for next year’s Asian Cup.

Group D hosts India, who went into the match placed behind Hong Kong due to an inferior goal difference, took just 56 seconds to get themselves on the scoresheet. 

Anwar Ali pounced on the rebound after Ashique Kuruniyan’s shot was blocked. The young defender calmly lifted the ball over the Hong Kong goalkeeper from the centre of the box and opened the floodgates. 

In the 44th minute, Jeakson Singh’s free-kick found an unmarked Sunil Chhetri, who controlled the ball well and beat the goalkeeper to his right. It was the 84th international goal for Sunil Chhetri, courtesy of which, he equalled the tally of legendary Ferenc Puskas of Hungary.

While India took a 2-0 lead into half-time, there was nothing to separate the two sides in terms of shots on goal, corners and ball possession.

Despite the rainy conditions in Kolkata, India pressed high against Hong Kong after the restart, looking for more goals. Both sides, however, looked defensively solid.

In the 84th minute, Brandon Fernandes and Roshan Singh combined well to provide Manvir Singh a chance to score. Manvir Singh placed the ball to the right of the goalkeeper to make it 3-0 for India.

With the game and the top spot firmly assured, India went full throttle and kept attacking Hong Kong for the remainder of the match. 

Manvir Singh then turned provider for Ishan Pandita for India’s fourth goal in added time with a clean cross.

The 2023 edition will be India’s fifth appearance at the AFC Asian Cup. India have played in the continental tournament on four occasions before - 1964, 1984, 2011 and 2019. The team’s best performance was a runners-up finish on their debut campaign in 1964.

At the last edition of the AFC Asian Cup in 2019, India made a promising start but narrowly missed out on a knockout phase spot after conceding a late penalty in their final group game against Bahrain.