India beat Hong Kong in AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers to reach final as group leader

India let Hong Kong score twice on either side of the two halves to go 4-0 in the final match of Group D of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Finals at Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.

This helped India become the top team with 9 points after 3 wins and qualified for the Asian Cup finals for the second time in a row for the first time in the tournament’s history.

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Hong Kong (six points) also made it to the final round as one of the best runners-up of six groups in the final round of qualifying.

India scored at the beginning of the first half. Looking to secure momentum, India turned on the offensive shortly after kick-off and secured a corner with just 30 seconds left on the clock.

The home side opted to take a short corner when Jeaskson Singh made a sharp cross towards the Hong Kong goal. Ashique Kuruniyan saw his first attempt from an opposing defender before Anwar Ali caught the bounce to find the top of the net.

Goals up for the home team, who are looking for more. He could have scored in the 26th minute but Sahal Abdul Samad, who brought India’s victory over Afghanistan in the match against India, was unlucky when the effort went wide.

Hong Kong tried to get back into the game to launch some good counter-attacks but with India’s defense with no space in the penalty area, the former player was unable to see the goal clearly.

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India doubled the lead in the final minutes of the first half thanks to Sunil Chhetri’s finish. The India captain took a free kick from Jeakson Singh and finished it off with his left foot to score his 84th international goal.

This ties him to Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas and places him fifth on the list of international top scorers.

Despite a downpour that hit the venue late in the first half, the Indians defied the conditions to uphold the procedure. Manvir Singh made it 3-0 in the 85th minute before playing the assist for Pandita to score in injury time (90 + 3).