India vs Singapore Football: Blue Tigers' make-or-break week starts away from home

The Indian football team faces Singapore in a potential make-or-break match on Thursday (9 October) at the National Stadium, Singapore, in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers Final Round Group C. Singapore are 24 places behind India in FIFA rankings at 158, but they lead the Group C with four points from two matches so far in the Group C.

This is the final round of qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia and only the group winner will qualify for the continental showpiece. The Blue Tigers (India) are attempting to qualify for a third consecutive time, but have accumulated only 1 point so far from two games.

They started with a draw against Bangladesh in Shillong before losing to Hong Kong, away from home. This led to the sacking of Manolo Marquez, with Khalid Jamil replacing him.

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India won a bronze in their first tournament under Jamil at the CAFA Nations Cup 2025, but enter the qualifier against Singapore without much match practice as the Indian Super League (ISL) has been delayed and the Super Cup is yet to begin.

The National camp that began on 20 September in Bengaluru has also been impacted by many of the players joining it late as clubs were reluctant to release the footballers.

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After a game in Singapore, India will face the same opponent in Goa on 14 October in the reverse Group C fixture. And coach Jamil knows anything less than positive results would be a disaster for India.

“We are playing away first, so we definitely need a positive result to begin with,” Jamil said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “We played CAFA last month, and that really helped us shape the team at the end of the day. All the players are professionals, so they know how to prepare and take responsibility.”

India’s AFC Asian Cup qualifier scenario

Coming back to the Group C standings. All teams have played two games each so far. Singapore and Hong Kong lead the table with four points each, while Bangladesh, also with just one point, is ahead of India, who are yet to score in the final round of qualifiers.

If India can climb to the top of the table if they beat Singapore on Thursday, given that Hong Kong lose to Bangladesh. Even if Hong Kong beat Bangladesh or play out a draw, India can jump to the second spot with a win over Singapore.

A draw would take India to two points, but they would remain behind Singapore and Hong Kong in the group, while a defeat would come as a crushing blow that could make it almost impossible to make a comeback.

A defeat at this stage won’t mean elimination, but it will allow Singapore to accumulate seven points, while India will be stuck at just 1. This shows that India must at least clinch a draw and hope to beat Singapore in the reverse fixture at home.

India vs Singapore football head-to-head record

India enjoy a slight edge over Singapore in the overall head-to-head record, having won 12 matches out of 27 matches, while the Lions have emerged victorious in 11 games.

The last match between India and Singapore ended in a 1-1 draw in 2022.

India vs Singapore football LIVE streaming

Date: 9 October 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 5 PM IST

Venue: Singapore National Stadium, Singapore

Live Streaming channel: FanCode