Tough road ahead for India after 0-1 loss to Hong Kong in Asian Cup qualifier tie

Ashley Westwood. Remember the name. For the second time in little over one year, the coach showed that he has got India's number and that too with a team significantly lower in the FIFA ranking.

- Dhiman Sarkar

KOLKATA:

In 2024, Westwood did it with Afghanistan. On Tuesday, it was with Hong Kong who won 1-0 through an injury-time penalty.

God willing, we will be in the Asian Cup, said India skipper Sandesh Jhingan in the flash interview after the match. Without divine intervention, a third successive finals berth could look bleak. With Singapore beating Bangladesh 2-1, India are now last in the group and along with Pakistan the only team to have not scored after two rounds.

Pereira Stefan's penalty went in grazing the inside of the upright. But putting the defeat down to a coat of paint on the framework would paper over fundamental errors in both penalty boxes that cost India at a packed Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong whose retractable roof was closed to amplify the noise and which was inaugurated with this group C match.