AFC Asian Cup qualifiers 2027: India faces high-flying Singapore amid messy build-up

With a build-up marred by several players missing the first half of the national camp, the Indian football team faces a tough Singapore in a crucial AFC Asian Cup third-round qualifier on Thursday.

Although talismanic Sunil Chhetri has returned to the team after being rested for the CAFA Nations Cup in August-September, Khalid Jamil’s side have trained together for barely a week before such an important match.

India are bottom of the four-team Group C after scoring just one point from the first two matches against Bangladesh (0-0) and Hong Kong (0-1). Singapore, on the other hand, currently sits at the top of the group with four points from two matches.

Any mistake on Thursday could jeopardize India’s chances of reaching the 2027 main draw, for which only the group winners will make the cut.

Jamil had named 30 players for the national camp in Bengaluru that started on September 20, but 14 of them, including Chhetri, were not released by the clubs.

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Later, most of the players joined the camp in late September, spending barely a week with the squad before leaving on Monday.

A helpless Jamil, who had only two defenders in the camp in the first half, had urged the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the clubs to find a solution to the age-old impasse. Veteran defender Sandesh Jhingan making the final squad of 23 after recovering from surgery for a fractured cheekbone during the CAFA Nations Cup last month was good news for India, who are ranked 134th, against Singapore’s 158th.

Head-to-head record

There isn’t much to separate the two sides when it comes to mutual performance. India has won 12 matches, compared to Singapore’s 11, while four matches ended in draws.

At home, Singapore has the upper hand with eight wins to India’s six, including one draw. The last time the two sides faced off in Singapore, the Lions came out on top, winning 2-0 in an international friendly in 2012.

What happened the last time India played Singapore?

The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw, with Ashique Kuruniyan canceling out Ikhsan Fandi’s 2022 strike.

Both head coaches are relatively new to their jobs. Singaporean coach Gavin Lee was appointed as interim in June and has yet to win a match, having drawn against Myanmar (1-1) and losing to Malaysia (1-2) last month.

However, Singapore will be buoyed by the return of captain and defender Hariss Harun, who was injured in the friendlies against Malaysia and Myanmar in September.

Singapore also boasts a number of players plying their trade in overseas leagues. The most notable among them is striker Ikhsan Fandi, who has 21 international goals to his name from 41 caps. The 26-year-old plies his trade for Ratchaburi FC in the Thai League 1.

Another foreign player, 19-year-old Jonan Tan, plays for Vizela FC in Portugal’s U23 national league. He has earned his first Lions call-up.

Jamil, on the other hand, had started his period positively after his appointment in August. He guided the team without Chhetri to a third place at the CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan.

India defeated Tajikistan, lost to Iran and drew Afghanistan in the group stage, and defeated Oman on penalties in the third place play-off.

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India head coach Jamil has made 10 changes to the CAFA Nations Cup squad, bringing in Brandon Fernandes, Sahal Abdul Samad, Farukh Choudhary and Liston Colaco in addition to Chhetri.

Jamil emphasized the importance of watching the remaining matches of the qualifiers one by one.

«We are not looking at the big picture at the moment. There are still four games to go, and the next one against Singapore is the most important one for us at the moment,» he said.

“We can’t look too far ahead; we have to go step by step.” After Thursday’s away match, India will face Singapore again on October 14 at Margao, Goa in the second leg.

Published on October 8, 2025