India will play Afghanistan in its second Group D AFC Asian Cup qualifying match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday.
India started its third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers with a 2-0 win against Cambodia. Both goals were scored by captain Sunil Chhetri. Afghanistan, on the other hand, started with a 1-2 loss against Hong Kong.
Head-to-Head record
India (ranked 106th) and Afghanistan (ranked 150th) have met 15 times, out of which the Blue Tigers have won nine times. Afghanistan has won one and five matches have ended in a draw.
The Blue Tigers have scored a total of 33 goals and the Lions of Khorasan have scored eight.
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Both teams met for the first time in the 1951 Asian Games semifinal in New Delhi. India won the match 3-0 with Pansanttom Venkatesh, Sheoo Mewalal, and Santosh Nandy scoring for the host.
The last time both teams met, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Technically both goals in the match were scored by the Lions of Khorasan. Ovays Azizi of Aghanistan scored an own goal while Hossein Zamani scored the other.
Form Guide
India’s morale will be high after winning its opening qualifying match against Cambodia. However, despite the win, the Blue Tigers were wasteful with their chances and Chhetri, in his post-match comments, said that his team couldn’t utilise its chances to the maximum.
Afghanistan would be eager to bounce back, which makes for a potentially feisty encounter between the two teams.
India's last five matches
- Win: India 2-0 Cambodia
- Loss: India 0-2 Jordan
- Loss: India 0-3 Belarus
- Loss: Bahrain 2-1 India
- Win: India 3-0 Nepal
Afghanistan's last five matches
- Loss: Hong Kong 2-1 Afghanistan
- Loss: Vietnam 2-0 Afghanistan
- Loss: Afghanistan 0-1 Jordan U-23
- Win: Afghanistan 3-0 Kuwait
- Draw: India 1-1 Afghanistan
Team news
India, which tops the Group D table after winning its opening match against Cambodia, can take a further step towards qualification if it wins against Afghanistan. Midfielder Lalengmawia Ralte remains out of the qualifiers with an injury. Rahul Bheke remains uncertain and Roshan Singh, who picked up a slight knock in the last match, may start on the bench.
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Afghanistan, which is third in the table, has no significant injury concern and coach Anoush Dastgi will most likely have his full squad to choose from.
Predicted XI
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