India gets tricky group in 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers final round

New Delhi: India was on Sunday drawn in a tricky group along with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore for the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers final round matches, beginning March 25 next year.

The draw, which saw 24 teams divided into six groups of four, was held at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Only the six group winners will qualify for the main tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027 and join the 18 teams who have already booked their tickets after the second round of qualifying.

The final round will be contested over six match days in a home-and-away format between March 25, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

Aiming to qualify for the third successive time, India will begin its Group C campaign at home against Bangladesh.

India is the highest-ranked team in the group at 127, followed by Hong Kong (156), Singapore (161) and Bangladesh (185). But, they won't be easy opponents.

India has faced all three opponents in the recent past. The Blue Tigers last faced Bangladesh (1-1 draw) in the 2021 SAFF Championship, Hong Kong (India won 4-0) in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata in June 2022, and Singapore (1-1 draw) in the Hung Thịnh Friendly Tournament in Vietnam in September 2022.

After the draw, India head coach Manolo Marquez said, "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.

"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."

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).