Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team

SINGAPORE: India’s make-or-break week begins on Thursday, October 9, 2025, when they take on Singapore in the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round Group C at the National Stadium, Singapore. The match will kick off at 17:00 IST and will be streamed live on FanCode.

The Indian senior men’s national team are currently bottom of Group C in the qualifiers, having earned just a point from two matches. However, all that could change if they achieve good results in the double header (home and away) against Singapore, who are currently sitting pretty at the top of the group with four points from as many games.

The Blue Tigers experienced a change of guard a little over a month ago, with Khalid Jamil taking over as the head coach. This change led to their first victory in a competitive match since November 2023, as they defeated hosts Tajikistan in the CAFA Nations Cup opener. Having eventually finished the prestigious regional tournament with a bronze medal, Jamil got the opportunity to work with the team ahead of the two crucial matches against Singapore.

“We are playing away first, so we definitely need a positive result to begin with,” he said at the pre-match press conference. “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.”

While Jamil is looking to make up for the lost points, he remains cautious about Singapore and the threat they pose, especially as the hosts.

“We need to play according to what the situation demands of us. This is an away game, so we need to be careful. Singapore have a good coach and quality players, so there’s no question of taking them lightly,” said Jamil.

India forward Vikram Partap Singh feels that the Blue Tigers are positive about a good result, especially when there is ample motivation from the 55,000-seater National Stadium.

“We all want to get a good result, and all the boys are confident they can put in a good showing tomorrow (Thursday),” said Vikram. “We know that there are a lot of Indians in Singapore, and if they want to come support us, that will be a huge motivation for us. But I understand that this is Singapore’s home game, and they might have more support. That will motivate us even further.”

Singapore, who played two friendlies in preparation for the matches against India last month (against Myanmar and Malaysia), are in the position they want to be. Interim head coach Gavin Lee lauded the changes Jamil has brought into the Blue Tigers’ setup.

“India have a very distinct style of play, and they are extremely effective with it. This kind of play only comes from good coaching, so full credit to the coach,” said Lee. “We have seen their matches, and they tend to impose themselves as a unit, not as individuals.

“Our job is to do the simple stuff to the very best of our abilities and put ourselves into positions around the penalty area and take our chances, while at the same time, secure our back door,” he said.India have a marginal upper hand against Singapore in the overall head-to-head record, having won 12 matches to the Lions’ 11, from the 27 matches played between the two sides. The last match between these two teams in 2022 ended in a 1-1 draw in Vietnam.