The Indian men’s football team last match of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong will be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi on March 31, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Sunday. It will be India’s first men’s international match to be played in Kochi in a decade. India are already out of contention for qualification to the tournament, having failed to collect a single win in the five matches they have played thus far. This includes some rather embarassing results like a 1-0 defeat to the lower-ranked Hong Kong and a goalless draw against Bangladesh at home. With the Indian players now having some match time under their feet due to the ISL finally getting underway, they would be hoping that they fare better and finish the campaign off on a positive note. It will be the third different home venue for India in the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round, after Shillong hosted the game against Bangladesh last March, and Margao hosted Singapore last October. India last played at the Kaloor stadium when they faced Turkmenistan in the FIFA World Cup qualifier in March 2016. The match against Hong Kong is a dead rubber in context of the qualification campaign, with Hong Kong also out of contention. However, there is always significant due to the FIFA ranking points on offer, especially with India having plummetted all the way down to 141. It marks a fall of over 40 spots on the world rankings since the end of the last AFC Asian Cup, with India placed 99th in July 2023. India’s hopes of making it to the Asian Cup ended when they lost 2-1 to Singapore at the Fatorda Stadium in October last year. It is the first time that India failed to qualify since the tournament was expanded to as many as 24 teams.
India’s final 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification match to be played in Kochi
