India’s hopes of making it to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup came crashing down on Tuesday after they lost to Singapore 2-1 in the third round of qualifications at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. With two goals from Song Ui-young, a Korea-born attacking midfielder, Singapore came back to win. They took the lead from India and secured their spot at the top of Group C.
Summary of the Match
Lallianzuala Chhangte scored India’s first goal in the 14th minute. He got the ball from far away and hit it perfectly with his left foot past the Singapore goalkeeper. The host team had most of the ball in the first half and seemed ready to take charge of the game.
Song Ui-young tied the game in the 44th minute, just before halftime, and then scored the game-winning goal in the 58th minute. India will be upset about all the chances they missed. The score was 1-1 at halftime, which showed that the first half was tense and evenly matched.
India has already tied 1-1 in the first leg against Singapore on October 9 in Singapore. In the other Group C encounter, Hong Kong and Bangladesh played to a 1-1 draw. This didn’t help India, who had only two points from three matches going into the day.
Second Half Efforts and Missed Chances
India’s head coach, Khali Jamil, made a lot of changes in order to get an equalizer. He brought in Rahim Ali and Udanta Singh to replace Liston Colaco and veteran striker Sunil Chhetri.
India made chances, but they didn’t take advantage of them. In the 90th minute, Brandon Fernandes missed a great chance after a great build-up by Udanta Singh and Rahul Bheke. He shot wide of the goal.
Group C Standings and What They Mean
The only team that can get to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup is the group winner. Singapore’s win put them at the top of the table with Hong Kong, both with eight points. India was out of the tournament.
India will now have to recover and focus on future AFC events, learning from the lost chances and defensive mistakes that cost them a spot in Asia’s top football championship.