The Indian football team secured a hard-fought draw against Singapore in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers final-round fixture at the Singapore National Stadium on Thursday.

Super-sub Rahim Ali’s 90th-minute equaliser cancelled out Ikhsan Fandi’s opener as the ten-man Blue Tigers salvaged a crucial point against the Lions.

It ends all square in Singapore as we return with a point. 🇸🇬🇮🇳#SGPIND #BlueTigers #ACQ2027 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/EVgS28fvkR

— Indian Football (@IndianFootball) October 9, 2025

Khalid Jamil handed a senior national team debut to NorthEast United FC midfielder Macarton Louis Nickson, while Sunil Chhetri returned to the starting XI against Singapore.

The Blue Tigers got their first opportunity in the 14th minute courtesy of a Liston Colaco free kick, which found Rahul Bheke inside the box, but the defender’s attempt went off target. Three minutes later, India missed another set-piece opportunity, this time from the left with Lallianzuala Chhangte, but his effort was unsuccessful.

Singapore got their first chance when Fandi got into a one-on-one position with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The Indian goalkeeper managed to win the battle, but the forward was flagged offside.

Glenn Kweh, Fandi, and Anuar combined well in the final third as the hosts continued to showcase their offensive prowess and started seeing more of the ball as the game progressed. They created a couple of chances in the stroke of halftime, resulting in Fandi breaking the deadlock in the dying minutes of the opening half. With that, India went into the break trailing by a goal.

The Blue Tigers were down to ten men early in the second half as Sandesh Jhingan received a second yellow card in the 47th minute, adding more trouble for the visitors who were in search of three points.

Jamil was forced to take off Farukh Choudhary, with Hmingthanmawia Ralte replacing him. Despite playing with ten men, Jamil’s men continued to push hard for the equaliser, with Chhangte and Chhetri leading the charge.

Singapore almost doubled their lead with Ilhan Fandi in the 72nd minute, but his right-footed shot from a narrow angle went off target. Seconds later, the forward came close to scoring again, but Sandhu made a crucial save to keep the scoreline unchanged.

India finally found the back of the net thanks to super-sub Rahim Ali, who scored his first senior international goal to salvage a point. Rahim’s late pressure caused Mahbud to lose the ball, and the forward made no mistake in striking it into an open net.

The Blue Tigers now have two points from three games, and they will next host Singapore in the return fixture on October 14 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa.