Hyderabad: 

Substitute Stefan Pereira converted a penalty in the 94th minute and now the Blue Tigers are at the third spot with just one point from a couple of matches in the Group C.

Hong Kong started the game with some sharp work in the middle and they worked the ball out wide to stretch India’s defence. However, despite their energy and hard work, they found it hard to maintain possession in the final third.

The struggle of the Indian men’s football team at the international stage continued on Tuesday as well, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat against Hong Kong. The team stumbled to a 1-0 loss against Hong Kong in the Group C match of the AFC Asian Cup Cup 2027 Qualifiers third round at the Kai Tak Stadium.

India’s best chance came in the 35th minute when Brandon Fernandes capitalised on a loose pass and released Liston Colaco down the left. He delivered an inch-perfect pass across the goal and Ashique Kuruniyan met it with a solid run but his effort went wayward.

Veteran Sandesh Jhingan and youngster Anwar Ali stood firm in India’s defence against repeated attacks from Hong Kong. The hosts also made some long-range attempts but ndia goalkeeper Vishal Kaith showed great composure to save the goals.

India created a chance in the 82nd minute as they were playing with some extra aggression in the second half. Lallianzuala Chhangte made a run down the right and played a cutback to Sunil Chhetri. The star Indian striker’s goal was destined to go into the back of the net but the opposition defender blocked the shot to deny the goal.

In the dying minutes of the game, the ball floated into India’s box for a long time. The Indian goalkeeper charged out in an attempt to clear the ball but mistimed his jump and collided with Hong Kong forward Michael Udebuluzor. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and substitute Pereira Stefan converted the penalty kick to score a winning goal.

Read More :

Heatwave persists in plains amid monsoon delay