New Delhi: India would battle with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore, teams placed lower than them in the FIFA rankings, from March 25 next year to qualify for the 2007 Asian Cup.
Under Igor Stimac, India failed to qualify for the third round of 2026 World Cup, finishing third in a group consisting Qatar, Kuwait and Afghanistan to be slotted among 24 teams that were divided into six groups of four.
Now under Manolo Marquez, the 127th ranked were placed in Pot 1 for the draw of lots and at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, they were slotted with Hong Kong (156), Singapore (161) and Bangladesh (185) in Group C.
The six group toppers will qualify for the main rounds of the tournament in Saudi Arabia, with 18 countries already secured of their berths after second round of qualifiers.
The final round will be held in a home-and-away format between March 25, 2025 and March 31, 2026, across six match days.
Aim to qualify for third straight time
India will aim to qualify for the third consecutive time and begin their group engagements at home against Bangladesh on March 25. Marquez’s side have been winless in 2024, and have faced all their opponents in recent past.
They drew 1-1 with Bangladesh at the 2021 SAFF Championship, beat Hong Kong 4-0 in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Kolkata in June 2022, and were held by Singapore 1-1 in the Hung Thịnh tournament in Vietnam in September 2022.
“We are a Pot 1 team and we need to show why we are the favourites to qualify. There are not too many differences between groups. Every group is difficult. Hong Kong has improved a lot with naturalised players and with their coach Ashley Westwood,” Marquez said.
“We will play against Bangladesh first in March, who have been our regular opponents in the SAFF Championship. We know the calendar. We have six games and we need to top the group and qualify for the Asian Cup.”
The All India Football Federation had announced on Sunday that the called-up players will assemble for a camp from March 14, two days after the Indian Super League’s last league match.
India’s fixtures:
March 25, 2025: India vs Bangladesh (home)
June 10, 2025: Hong Kong vs India (away)
October 9, 2025: India vs Singapore (home)
October 14, 2025: Singapore vs India (away)
November 18, 2025: Bangladesh vs India (away)
March 31, 2026: India vs Hong Kong (home)
India will aim to qualify for the third consecutive time and begin their group engagements at home against Bangladesh on March 25. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
