Can India still qualify for 2027 AFC Asian Cup after 1-1 draw against Singapore? Scenarios explained

The Indian men’s football team returned to action for the first time since they punched above their weight to finish third at the CAFA Nations Cup last month. Facing Singapore in their latest 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifying game, Khalid Jamil's Blue Tigers found themselves playing catch-up on the field yet again, narrowly avoiding a defeat in their latest outing.

Ikhsan Fandi put The Lions in the lead late in the first half with a goal at the stroke of half-time. Things went from bad to worse for the Indians on the other side of the interval after senior defender Sandesh Jhingan was sent off.

Blue Tigers fight back to hold Singapore to a draw

The Indians, however, displayed the kind of resilience that had helped them beat Tajikistan and Oman in the CAFA Nations Cup, with Odisha FC forward Rahim Ali firing a 90th-minute equaliser to help the Blue Tigers share the honours with their opponents.

India are up against the same opponents in less than a week’s time, this time on home turf with the return clash scheduled to take place at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa on Tuesday, 14 October.

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But ahead of that showdown, India face a key question – whether they are even in the race to qualify for the next edition of the showpiece continental event two years from now after two consecutive appearances.

The good news for supporters of the Indian football team is that the Blue Tigers are still in the race to qualify for the main event, which will be hosted in Saudi Arabia. The worrying news – their hopes are hanging by a thread, and another defeat could potentially spell doom.

Can India still qualify for 2027 Asian Cup? 

India currently are third in Group C in the third round of the qualifiers, behind Hong Kong and Singapore but marginally ahead of Bangladesh.

All four teams in the group have played three games each so far, with Hong Kong and Singapore occupying the top two spots with 7 and 5 points respectively. India and Bangladesh, meanwhile, are yet to collect a win and are lagging behind with 2 and 1 point respectively.

Only one team – the team finishing at the top – from each group will advance to the tournament finals and right now it appears a two-horse race between Hong Kong and Singapore.

Given the five-point gap between leaders Hong Kong and India, the latter find themselves facing a situation where they need to win each of their remaining matches. And even that might not be enough, for they will need other results to go their way – including Hong Kong winning no more than one game in the second half of the third round.

India could confirm their ticket for Saudi Arabia with two wins and a draw, provided both Hong Kong fail to defeat Singapore and both teams lose their return fixtures against the Blue Tigers as well as Bangladesh.

Another defeat for the Blue Tigers, however, will spell the end of their campaign, meaning it’s do-or-die for Jamil and his men in each of their remaining games. Fortunately for them, two of those three games will be taking place on home soil, boosting their chances of finishing on the right side of the result.