Looking back at India's best performance in AFC Asian Cup history

India finished runners-up in the 1964 edition of the AFC Asian Cup.

The Indian football team are all set to fight in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in January 2024. This will mark the fifth edition of the competition that the Blue Tigers will be participating in and Igor Stimac’s side will be striving to get out of a tough group.

India have had a pretty disappointing history in terms of their participation in Asia’s biggest competition. In their last three editions, the Blue Tigers have been eliminated in the group stages itself. They did come very close to making it out of the group last time around in the 2019 edition, only for a crushing last-minute loss in their final group game against Bahrain tarnishing their hopes.

Team India’s best performance at an AFC Asian Cup edition happened way back almost 60 years ago in the 1964 edition. In this edition, India were one of just four participating teams in the AFC Asian Cup after 11 of the 17 eligible nations withdrew in the qualification round itself.

The 1964 AFC Asian Cup was held in Israel, with the Israel national football team still associated with the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) rather than UEFA back then. Due of the low number of teams, AFC decided to hold this Asian Cup edition in a group stage format – with all the matches held in an 80-minute format – keeping in tradition with previous editions as well.

The 1964 AFC Asian Cup was India’s debut in the competition, having not been able to qualify for the past few editions before that. The Blue Tigers were managed by Englishman Harry Wright and had one of their strongest sides during the period known as a ‘Golden Era’ for Indian football.

Which teams did India face in 1964 AFC Asian Cup?

Despite the limited number of teams, India faced a daunting challenge against the likes of Israel, Hong Kong and two-time reigning champions South Korea. Each team would only play against each other once in the group stages and the team with the highest points would be crowned as the winners.

India’s first game in the 1964 Asian Cup was against the two-time champions South Korea, who were overwhelming favourites to win another title. However, the Blue Tigers went on to produce what is still considered one of their all-time best performances in a competitive international game.

Historic win over South Korea

Harry Wright’s side took the fight to the South Korean side from the get-go and stunned them with a second-minute opening goal scored by forward Kosuru Appalaraju. The Korean players were left bamboozled by what happened and struggled to concentrate on the task at hand. They were then frustrated by some fantastic defending by India, who played as an unbreakable unit and did not let themselves get bullied.

As the South Korean side grew more desperate with every passing minute, India defender Inder Singh scored another goal to double the lead just before the hour-mark. The Blue Tigers went on to record a 2-0 win, producing a defensive masterclass and showing unparalleled fearlessness to prove their ability to beat the best teams in Asia.

Loss to Israel and redemption against Hong Kong

India would go on to face hosts Israel in their second game, but home advantage greatly helped the Israeli side in this encounter. Playing in front of 20,000 fans, Israel played with high confidence levels and with momentum on their side. Even though India did play some impressive football, they just weren’t clinical enough and buckled under pressure.

Israel scored the opener through a penalty from star striker Mordechai Spiegler in the 29th minute. They went on to resist India’s attacks and winger Yohai Aharoni scored the second goal in the second half, sealing a 2-0 win.

India’s chances of clinching the AFC Asian Cup were dampened by that defeat, but Harry Wright did not allow it to hold them down. The Blue Tigers finished off their tournament in style with a dominant display against Hong Kong.

Of course, it didn’t come easy at all. Hong Kong held them off with some sturdy defending in the first half and took the lead in the 39th minute too! However, the Blue Tigers hurled them aside like a storm in the second half. Inder Singh scored a timely equalizer in the 45th minute to blow the game wide open.

East Bengal forward Sukumar Samajpati put India ahead with a well-taken goal before India captain Chuni Goswami netted the third towards the end to seal a 3-1 win. With Israel also defeating South Korea, they capped off a perfect tournament by clinching the AFC Asian Cup trophy.

Finishing the tournament strongly

However, India finished as runners-up and definitely surpassed all the expectations. Inder Singh, who scored two goals in three matches, finished as the joint-top scorer with Spiegler – who would go on to play for Paris Saint-Germain in his career and is currently the second-highest goal-scorer in Israel football team’s history with 32 goals.

Igor Stimac’s side will hope to take in the spirit of the legendary 1964 team in the upcoming edition and showcase the character to defy the odds when they take part in the tournament next month.

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