India Secure Historic Back-to-back AFC Asian Cup Qualification Before Match vs Hong Kong

The Indian men’s football team secured their place in the AFC Asian Cup after Palestine defeated Philippines in another group of the qualifiers on Tuesday.

The Blue Tigers have now qualified for back-to-back editions of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in their history, even before their last group clash against Hong Kong slated to kick off later at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

India have now qualified for the AFC Asia Cups in 2019, 2011, 1984, 1964 and now 2023.

Only the winners of the six qualifying groups are assured of the place in the AFC Asian Cup, where they will be joined by the five runners-up with the best records in the competition.

India and Hong Kong have both beaten Afghanistan and Cambodia in their opening two clashes and are tied on six points, with the latter on top owing to a better goal difference. India had a patchy show against Cambodia, where Sunil Chhettri scored a double, it took an injury-time winner by Abdul Sahal Samad to seal three points, as Chhetri’s 86th-minute free-kick was cancelled out two minutes later by Zubayr Amiri’s header, to seal three points against Afghanistan.

With Philippines’ loss to Palestine, they ended their qualifiers campaign with just four points and finished second in their group, meaning they will be the team with the worst record.

The game though against Hong Kong, even though inconsequential now, will not be a damp squib. India would settle for nothing less than three points which would guarantee them top spot in the group, a pre-tournament target given their superior FIFA ranking.

With the fans expected to make it a spectacle against at the Salt Lake stadium, there is even more motivation for the Indian team to end on a happy note in Kolkata and celebrate AFC Asian Cup qualification with the fans.

Sunil Chhetri who has already scored three goals in the third round of the qualifiers will look for his 84th international goal that will tie him with Hungarian goalscoring legend Ferenc Puskas in the chart for the all-time leading international goalscorers.

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