Singapore vs India LIVE SCORE: Sunil Chhetri starts; SGP v IND updates in AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers

Jamil tries to put in the final roll of his dice with two attacking changes: Lallianzualla Chhangte and Sunil Chhetri go off for Udanta Singh and Rahim Ali.

For Singapore, Hami Syahin and Jordan Emaviwe replace Shawal Anuar and Glenn Kweh.

India tries to find some reply to Singapore bombardment, with Chhetri running into the final third, with two players as back up. He tries to combine with Chhangte but is ruled off-side.

Singapore almost scores when Ilhan Fandi gets a through ball in the final third but his right-footed shot from a narrow angle is off-target. Seconds later, Ilhan almost scores again, but Gurpreet makes a crucial save. That’s two saves in a matter of seconds.

In: Sahal Abdul Samad, Deepak Tangri

Out: Macarton Louis Nickson, Nikhil Prabhu

Jamil will now hope for some creativity in the midfield in the last 15 minutes of regulation time, with India reeling as an outnumbered squad and being 0-1 down.

Singapore attacks against the runs of play as Shahiran and Kweh combine to get the ball up the pitch. Shawal Anuar then tries to set it up to Ikhsan Fandi. However, Bheke comes to India’s rescue, aong with Gurpreet to deny a second to Singapore.

Sunil Chhetri turns to go for an attack when Shahiran fouls him for a free-kick. Chhangte takes it and Bheke’s header goes out of play for a goal kick.

Colaco takes the free-kick, which is deflected and then cleared by Singapore outside the box. Valpuia tries to win the ball back off Shahiran but ends up fouling him.

The match has reached the hour mark and India has barely tested the goalkeeper after the opening 10 to 15 minutes. Now, might be a chance as Rhyan Stewart pulls Colaco down. The referee gives Stewart a yellow card.

India gets a free-kick, which is taken by Chhangte. The ball almost lands into the gloves of Mahbud, who lets it slips from his hands. However, there is no Indian to latch onto the loose ball as Singapore’s defence clears it out of danger.

Shawal Anuar tries to block Gurpreet’s goal kick from behind and ends up fouling him. The referee books him immediately with a yellow card, the second booking of the match and the first for Singapore.

Singapore goes for another attack, with Song trying to deliver a cross from the right. His cross is intercepted for a corner kick, which the No. 7 takes again. That is headed out of play by Nikhil Prabhu for another Singapore corner.

Jamil, understandably, shuffles his pack, replacing a forward with a defender, bringing on Hmingthanmawia (Valpuia) for Farukh.

India’s has dragged its line-up back, with a five-man defence, trying to stop conceding any more goals. But the result, if it stays this way, will make it almost impossible for India to qualify for the Asian Cup.

Sandesh Jhingan tries to get the ball off Ikhsan Fandi but ends up conceding a foul. The referee has a look and reaches out to his pocket. It’s a second yellow and the defender is off. India is down to 10 men.

Nakamura resumes the match as Singapore, roaring at the moment, eyes a historic AFC Asian Cup qualification. It has played in the Asian Cup only once, in 1984, as the default host.

India will need to find some creativity in the midfield, something that has been missing entirely since kick off for the visitors. Sahal Abdul Samad, who is being given instructions in the half-time break, could be one of the options India could try to being on to find a way back into the match.

Singapore has knocked on the doors of India’s defence time and again and deservedly, found the opening goal in injury time. For comparison, India has had 19 attacks in the opening half, Singapore, 38.

Irrespective of the FIFA rankings - Singapore is lower than India - the Lions have been on top by some distance, playing counterattacking football and eventually something for it.

Singapore attacks with a quick build-up: Hariss sets up Anuar in the box with a diagonal run, who combines with Fandi. The final touch comes off Fandi, who scored consecutive goals against the Blue Tigers.

India is back to its 4-4-1-1 shape and Kweh, meanwhile, is orchestrating attacks for Singapore, making runs along the left and cutting into the centre.

Baharudin goes down after a touch off Farukh and just when India looked to have an advantage, the referee blows his whistle for a free-kick.

Rhyan Stewart, who had gone down after a challenge off Farukh, is back on his feet, as the match resumes with a drop ball. Again, Singapore goes for an attack but the cross for Fandi is overshot and goes out of play.

Nakamura spots a space along the right and threads in a through ball for Anuar. Uvais somehow gets to the ball first for a corner, which is headed out by Chhetri for another corner. That is then cleared by India.

Liston Colaco tries to steal the ball off Rhyan Stewart, but the push off his shoulder gives the Lions a free-kick along the right. Song takes the free-kick, which is headed out by India. Jhingan tries to get it further away but miscues his kick. Finally, Bheke comes to India’s rescue to get it out of danger.

Kweh makes a run along the left, finds a space to make a cut back into the centre for Song. The No. 7 takes a shot, which is blocked by Jhingan. Singapore is knocking on India’s door again and again. Can it break the deadlock? We’ll have to wait and watch.

Glenn Kweh draws two defenders towards him and almost sends Bheke to the cleaners with a brilliant dribble. He passes it to Song, with Fandi eventually getting the ball. Fandi tries to set up Anuar on his right, but over shoots it as the ball goes out for a goal kick.

Singapore tries to thread in a defence-splitting through ball but Anwar and Uvais combine to close the space down around the Indian penalty box and clear the ball out of danger.

India looks for a reply on the other end with a long throw from Uvais. Sunil Chhetri tries to steal it off Mahbud but a hand ball ends that chance with only a free-kick to Singapore.

Song takes the corner kick, which is met by Hariss, who then sets up Stewart on his left. The resulting header is caught comfortably by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

India, which was playing with a 4-4-1-1 shape so far, looks to have shifted to a 4-2-2-2 or a modified 4-4-2 formation now. However, it is Singapore which is dictating play now and gets another corner.

Kweh takes the corner for Singapore, which is headed out of danger by Sunil Chhetri as the whole squad gets together to do its defensive duties.

Anuar gets a gorgeous pass off an attack from the back: Fandi sets him up on his right, but the latter’s cross is well-spotted by Anwar Ali, who hoofs the ball out of danger.

Jhingan tries to get the ball before Fandi but his challenge is slightly late and he has his boots raised. That earns him a yellow card - the first booking of the match.

Ikhsan Fandi latches on to a through ball in the box and gets into a one-on-one position with Gurpreet Sindhu. The Indian goalkeeper wins the battle but the linesman then raises the off-side flag. The goal wouldn’t have counted even if it had happened.

India gets a free-kick along the left. Chhangte, instead of kicking it close to the box, passes it square, but the strategy backfires and no further opening comes from the chance as the Lions clear the ball away.

Stewart now pushes Farukh down in their own half, giving India a free-kick. Colaco takes the free-kick, which is headed off-target by Bheke for a goal-kick to Singapore.

Sahiran delivers a cross from the left for Stewart in the centre. But the No. 13 is closed down by Jhingan and Uvais to deny a header. Singapore keeps the ball but a foul to Colaco stops play for a free-kick to India.

Shawal Anuar is putting in the hard yards for Singapore at the moment, winning the ball and dictating play in the midfield. The hosts are currently enjoying a good spell of possession, trying to build up.

Mahbud sets up Khweh up front with a long kick, almost lifting a leaf out of Jamil’s long ball strategy. But Gurpreet gets to the ball first to put that attack from Singapore to bed.

Nakamura tries to combine with Song in the midfield but then India intercepts it, and then it goes for an attack, with Colaco carrying the ball into the final third. He passes it to Uvais on his left, but the latter is ruled off-side to end the attack.

Fandi, who had scored in the last India vs Singapore clash, has started in this match too, and is looking to make runs in the inner channels. But Jamil’s defensive approach keeps the Lions at bay. Stewart then takes a shot from distance, which is way off-target.

India has started the match on the offensive and earns a corner, which Rahul Bheke takes. Unlike coach Jamil’s typical long throws, this one is a short one, which is soon taken control of by Singapore.

Chhangte carries the ball along the right flank and then whips it in for Chhetri. But Mahbud gets to the ball first. Farukh and Chhetri press him up the pitch but the goalkeeper gets the ball clear somehow.

Chhangte gets the ball back to Gurpreet, who kicks the ball long. But the long-ball attempt is thwarted by Singapore and then Colaco’s dribble is stopped by Stewart in the midfield.

The match begins at the Singapore National Stadium, with India getting the ball rolling off Chhangte. India is playing from right to left while Singapore starts from the other end.

The last time India played Singapore was three years ago in an international friendly. Ikhsan Fandi opened the scoring for the Lions while Ashique Kuruniyan equalised fore the Blue Tigers, with the match ending as a 1-1 draw.

The players have all lined up in the tunnel. They have their socks pulled up, the team talks are almost done and it is a matter of time when the game begins in Singapore’s National Stadium.

AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers: Sandesh Jhingan reveals hopes of India qualifying for tournament

Before India’s Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore, Sandesh Jhingan sat for an exclusive interview with Sportstar to discuss India’s hopes of qualification and how he continues to be one of the country’s most prominent centre-backs.

While an answer to this question from an emotional perspective mostly remains yes, let’s look whether it makes sense to have an optimistic point of view. India has beaten higher-ranked sides, Tajikistan and Oman, in Khalid Jamil’s first assignment as head coach.

That does offer hope for Blue Tigers. However, they have struggled to beat lower-ranked sides lately, be it Bangladesh, Afghanistan and even, Hong Kong. Against Singapore, India also has a poor head-to-head record, setting this clash up as a tense one to predict or even take sides in.

Though Singapore remains a lower-ranked side, its match against India has always been an unpredictable one. While India has beaten the Lions four times, the last the time it has the better of Singapore was over two decades ago, in a 1-0 win in 2004.

“For us as a team, tomorrow is like every other game we play in this campaign, it’s all about the three points. We are all very focused and we know what we have to do on the pitch and now it’s about us delivering it tomorrow night,” Lee said.

“We should not take this match lightly at all. We are playing an away game, and we need a positive result. The approach is simple — we all want to win,” Jamil said.

“Talking about the last game — the CAFA Cup — that experience was useful for us. The players are professional; they understand the importance of this game. They are also prepared and know they have to take responsibility.”

“We need to mix things up depending on how the game goes, especially in attack. But as I said, this is an important match. We have to be very careful. Singapore have a good coach and quality players, so we cannot underestimate them,” he added.

India coach Khalid Jamil makes five changes to his starting 11 from his previous match, against Oman, with Sunil Chhetri coming in as one of the three forwards alongside Faruk Choudhary and Liston Colaco.

Macarton Louis Nickson and Sandesh Jhingan are among the other changes, with the latter returning after recovering from a cheekbone fracture.

AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers — Will Sunil Chhetri play in Singapore vs India?

Chhetri, India’s record goalscorer, returned to the national team after four months and is in the national camp for the first time under head coach Khalid Jamil.

India faces a decisive week in its AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying campaign, starting with an away clash against Group C leader Singapore on Thursday.

Read the full preview below:

India vs Singapore Preview: What’s at stake, team news, form, and key players before AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers clash

The build-up marred by several players missing the first half of the national camp, the Indian football team faces a tricky Singapore in a crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifying third round match in Singapore on Thursday.

The Blue Tigers sit bottom with one point from two matches and must secure strong results in the home-and-away double header to stay in contention.

“Playing away first, we need a positive result to start with,” said head coach Khalid Jamil, adding that last month’s CAFA Cup helped refine the squad’s preparation and focus.

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