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The Indian national football team will square up against Hong Kong at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers opened their account with a 2-0 win over Cambodia, courtesy of a Sunil Chhetri brace.
This was followed by a tricky encounter against the Afghanistan football team. Igor Stimac's side produced a late-winner from Sahal Abdul Samad to oust Anoush Dastgir's men.
Hong Kong, like India, have won both their games so far and are currently top of the table. They won their first game 2-1 against Afghanistan, despite the Afghans piling up some pressure in the second half. The second encounter against the Cambodians was an easy 3-0 victory for Hong Kong.
AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers | Afghanistan vs India: Key Players
#1 Sunil Chhetri (India)
The Indian national football team skipper stepped up when it mattered. Scoring a brace against Cambodia in the opening encounter, followed by a sublime free-kick against Afghanistan to open the scoring, Sunil Chhetri carried the weight of expectations for India up front.
The talismanic forward has been India's most potent attacking threat in this tournament and is expected to score the all-important 84th international goal to equalize Ferenc Puskás' record.
#2 Matthew Orr (Hong Kong)
Matthew Orr will be leading the attack against India and will be in pursuit of adding another in the final group game. He scored the second goal against Afghanistan in their 2-1 win and first in the 3-0 win over Cambodia. His movement and finishing will be a cause of concern for the Indian defense.
With Sandesh Jhingan pulling his calf muscle against Afghanistan, it will be interesting to see how he copes with the threat posed by Orr.
AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers | Afghanistan vs India: Predicted Lineups
India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK); Naorem Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra; Ashique Kuruniyan, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Jeakson Singh; Liston Colaco, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.
Hong Kong: Yapp Hung Fai; Yue Tze Nam, Yu Wai Lim, Fung Hing Wa, Wong Tsz Ho; Chan Siu Kwan, Huang Yang, Wong Wai; Law Tsz Chun, Matt Orr, Jahangir Khan.
AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers | Afghansitan vs India: Livestream and telecast details
The AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifier match between India and Afghanistan will be telecast in India from the Salt Lake Stadium on Star Sports at 8.30 PM IST on June 11. The game can also be live streamed via Disney+ Hotstar or JioTV.
AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers | India vs Hong Kong:
Head-to-head
India have an impressive record against Hong Kong. The Blue Tigers have met Hong Kong 15 times, with the former winning seven of those outings. Four of the matches have ended in draws while India has lost four times.
The last outing between the two sides took place on October 4, 2010. Li Haiqiang broke the dead-lock against a depleted Indian side that was led by Climax Lawrence.
