When the Indian football team is set to take on Hong Kong in their last Group D match of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on Tuesday, their hopes are once again set to rest on the charismatic player Sunil Chhetri, who led the previous two victories. Both teams have an equal 6 points to their name so far with 2-2 wins but coach Joan Anderson's team is in a better position than India in terms of goal difference. In such a situation, the Indian team will have to win this match to make it to the 24-nation competition by avoiding execuses.
Apart from the teams at the top of the 6 groups, the next best 5 teams are going to qualify for the main round. The Indian team is going to win this match in front of the home crowd for the second time in a row and for the fifth time in a row for which it is going to be on the field with the intention of qualifying. Hong Kong, on the other hand, is eyeing its first Asia Cup qualification since 1968. In the rankings, India (106) is well ahead of Hong Kong (147). But in the current competition, Hong Kong has impressed a lot.
Indian coach Igor Stimac said, "If we lose in yesterday's match, the three points that we got against Cambodia will not make any sense. We're at zero at the moment. We have played well but Hong Kong is going to be a different challenge.''
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