Khalid Jamil calls for positivity ahead of India's crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifier clash against Singapore

India will look for their first win in AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Singapore.

India are set to host Singapore in their next AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier clash at the Fatorda Stadium (Goa) on Tuesday, 14 October 2025.

The Blue Tigers are eager to get their first win of the qualifiers and keep their dreams of qualifying for the Asian Cup alive, with this upcoming clash also poised to be Khalid Jamil’s first home match as the India national team head coach.

Ahead of the match, Khalid Jamil urged his players and fans to think positively as he stated: “This is an important game as we are playing at home, so we must think positively and get a positive result.

“We can’t think like that (negatively) in football, we must think positively as we are facing a good side. We got a good result at their away game, and we must think positively and get a positive result,” he added.

When asked about his side’s approach for the upcoming match and if he feels they can win their remaining qualifying games, the gaffer replied: “We need to think about tomorrow’s game as that is the most important one. We must move forward with one step at a time, and that will be easy for us. We have to think positively and we need to go on an attacking mode from the get-go.”

Also Read: India look to return to winning ways against Singapore in AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers at home

On adding Subhasish Bose and Apuia to the roster

Jamil was also questioned on the decision to bring Subhasish Bose and Lalengmawia Ralte back into the squad for this game, and he stated: “We required them, especially Subhasish, as we don’t have extra left-backs because Sandesh got a red card. Apuia deserves to be back again. He was good in his last game, and we felt that this was the right time to use them. Maybe it would’ve been ideal to call them before, but I feel that it’s good to call them now to use them.”

The Indian football team gaffer also urged his players to maintain the spirit they showed after going to 10 men against Singapore, quipping: “We must continue with the same intensity we played with 10 players in the last game, but now we have one extra player. It’ll be good for us to start attacking from the get-go as we are playing at home.”

On the importance of the games ahead

Jamil insisted that he isn’t worried about what impact the other game between Bangladesh and Hong Kong will have on India’s future in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, as he simply said, “We are thinking about just our game. We are playing a game against a good team, and we’ll see about other stuff after that.”

Finally, when asked about how he feels about managing India in his first home game as their head coach, Jamil stated: “It’s my pleasure to be here and it’ll be a difficult game, but we must think positively. We must work as a unit, every player must take responsibility to win,” he finished with.

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