Looking back at India's qualifying campaign for AFC Asian Cup 2023

Leader Sunil Chhetri produced stellar performance in India’s qualification to the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

The AFC Asian Cup is only hours away. Indian football team’s campaign will also commence tomorrow against the formidable Australian team at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Doha.

A total of 24 teams have been divided into six groups for the league stage. Each team will compete against their group opponents in the tournament.

The journey to the 2023 Asian Cup was fraught with challenges for the Indian team. They displayed resilience in each of their matches, culminating in their first-ever consecutive Asian Cup qualification.

In this article, we will take a look at India’s qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Second Round 

The Indian team initially participated in the second round of qualification, being placed in Group E alongside Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. From the eight matches in the second round, India emerged victorious in only one and suffered defeat in three, while four matches concluded in a draw. India’s only win came against Bangladesh who were defeated with a score of 2-0. 

With this outcome, India concluded their second round campaign in the third position and were subsequently required to compete in the third round in order to secure qualification

Sunil Chhetri was the highest goal scorer for India in the second round with three goals. 

Third Round 

In the third round, India was assigned to Group D, along with Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia. India demonstrated dominance in the group by emerging victorious in all three matches. They secured victories over Cambodia with a score of 2-0, Afghanistan with a score of 2-1, and Hong Kong with a commanding 4-0 win.

As the leading teams in the group would have secured qualification for the final stage, India’s top finish in the table marked their initial consecutive participation in the AFC Asian Cup.

Even in the third round, Sunil Chhetri led the tally with the highest number of goals scored by an Indian, achieving three goals in three matches.

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