India travel to Hong Kong to keep their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup alive, with the mood surrounding Manolo Marquez’s side one of quiet consternation. Group C is delicately balanced with all four sides (Bangladesh, Singapore) on a point each following Matchday 1 that finished goalless.
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Sunil Chhetri’s return wasn’t enough as India drew 0-0 against Bangladesh, and a 0-2 loss to Thailand in a friendly last week has raised concerns again. Manolo Marquez isn’t too worried about his side’s profligacy in front of goal saying, “In my opinion, most coaches are not worried about the scores in the friendly games. We are focussing on the important match (Hong Kong). I know everyone speaks about the score (against Thailand). But if we scored from the chances we created, it would have been different. This is football.”
The Spaniard is bullish about his team’s chances against Hong Kong, given the longer preparation time he has been afforded following the end of the 2024-25 season in India’s club football calendar. “Our preparations have been much better this time, if we compare with the previous FIFA windows, where you practically don’t have too much time. We had about three weeks to prepare, between Kolkata, Bangkok, and here in Hong Kong. And we are ready to perform. Nothing special,” said Márquez.
India ran out 4-0 winners the last time these two teams met in June 2022, with Anwar Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh and Ishan Pandita finding the net. However, Hong Kong are a much-changed side since then, with Ashley Westwood coming in and immediately improving their fortunes – losing only one of their last 10 games, while also earning a couple of victories against higher-ranked teams in his seven wins.
Westwood, who had spells with Bengaluru FC and Punjab FC, is intimately familiar with Indian football, and was complimentary of the nation’s progress and Marquez, saying “I went to India in 2013, and the country is a million miles away from where it was back then. I know their coach, I watched the ISL. He’s a good coach, and he’s been doing good things with FC Goa. He coaches right, he prepares right, and his players are always fit.”
Despite his words, Marquez’s time with the national team barely had any bright sparks, with a struggle to score goals being the chief concern. India will have to reverse that trend soon enough, as dropping points will further degrade their chances of finishing top of Group C – the only path left to Asian Cup qualification.
