New Delhi [India], March 15 (ANI): The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, Kerala, will host the India senior males’s nationwide staff’s final match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round towards Hong Kong, China, on March 31.
The match will kick off at 19:00 IST (Indian Standard Time), in keeping with the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
This will mark the primary time in 10 years that Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the Blue Tigers. In March 2016, India confronted Turkmenistan in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on the identical venue. That was additionally the final time the Indian senior males’s staff performed in Kerala.
India, who’re out of the reckoning for a spot within the AFC Asian Cup 2027, will goal to finish their qualifying marketing campaign with a win. Despite it being a lifeless rubber within the context of the qualifiers, as Hong Kong have additionally been eradicated, the match nonetheless carries significance with FIFA rating factors on provide.
It would be the third totally different dwelling venue for India within the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round, after Shillong hosted the sport towards Bangladesh final March, and Margao hosted Singapore final October.
Last week, the Indian senior girls’s nationwide staff suffered a 0-11 loss by the hands of Japan of their second Group C match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 on the Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth, Australia, on March 7.
The former World Cup and Asian Cup champions led by 5 targets at half-time. Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa (20′, 35′, 81′) and Riko Ueki (47′, 50′, 65′) scored a hat-trick every. Kiko Seike (45+5′ p, 55′) scored two, whereas Yuzuki Yamamoto (4′), Yui Hasegawa (13′), and Maya Hijikata (62′) netted one every, in keeping with the All India Football Federation (AIFF). (ANI)