India couldn’t construct on Chhangte’s early strike.
| Photo Credit: AIFF
On an evening the place India confirmed loads of promise, it had to swallow a bitter capsule by the hands of Singapore on the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday. The 2-1 defeat ended any hopes of a 3rd successive AFC Asian Cup qualification.
India performed its finest soccer below Khalid Jamil in a while in a frantic begin which was punctuated by Lallianzuala Chhangte’s outrageous opener.
India spurned a number of openings — together with failing to convert a number of corners — earlier than the customer delivered two suckerpunches to knock out the house facet. The defeat left India backside of Group-C, with no wins in 4 matches towards groups ranked decrease than its world rating of 134.
India ought to have been no less than forward by three objectives earlier than the 40-minute mark with Chhangte and Mahesh Naorem, who began because the No. 10, squandering possibilities.
India was relentless in its urgent and forcing Singapore again, which paid off within the 14th minute when Chhangte latched onto a free cross inside his personal half. With Singapore backing off him, Chhangte unleashed a thunderous hit from 30 yards out along with his weaker foot.
As India let Singapore off the hook, the away facet waited patiently for a fortunate break, towards a tiring Indian outfit, which got here proper earlier than the interval. A botched clearance from Rahul Bheke fell kindly for Glenn Kweh, who arrange Song Ui-Young to side-foot the ball previous Gurpreet Singh Sandhu— a merciless blow for India to take into the break.
Despite the setback, India continued to press on within the second half whereas Singapore was comfortable to take in the stress, eager to use its tempo to damage India on the break.
Nikhil Prabhu, who had an excellent recreation till then, handed it the initiative by shedding possession inside Singapore’s half. Ui-Young doubled his tally when Shawal Anuar discovered the attacker on the tip of a lighting break earlier than the winger lashed previous Gurpreet to make it a memorable evening for the Lions.
The end result: India 1 (Chhangte 14) misplaced to Singapore 2 (Ui-Young 44, 58).
Published – October 14, 2025 10:30 pm IST
