The draw, which saw 24 teams divided into six groups of four, was held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday.
Only the six group winners will qualify and join the 18 teams who have already punched their tickets to the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 after the second round of qualifying. The Qualifiers Final Round will be contested over six match days in a home-and-away format between 25 March 2025 and 31 March 2026. India, aiming to qualify for three successive Asian Cups for the first time in their history, will begin their campaign at home against Bangladesh.
India have faced all three opponents in the recent past. The Blue Tigers last faced Bangladesh in the 2021 SAFF Championship, Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata in June 2022, and Singapore in the Hng Thnh Friendly Tournament in Vietnam in September 2022. As per the FIFA Rankings released in November, India are placed 127th, Hong Kong are 156th, Singapore are 161st, and Bangladesh are 185th.
This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Statesman.
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This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Statesman.
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