It all comes down to this — the last match of continental significance for India in a forgettable four-year cycle, a dead rubber against Hong Kong (China) in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

India, the top seed, sits at the bottom of the standings and is out of the Asian Cup race. When it ends its group stage at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Kerala, on March 31, it will look to offer something to football fans in the country.

Head coach Khalid Jamil has made strong calls in his squad this time: 14 changes from the side that lost 0-1 to Bangladesh, including a maiden call-up for defender Bijoy Varghese and a return for goalkeeper Albino Gomes after nearly a decade.

The addition of Australia-born Ryan Williams and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Abhneet Bharti marks the start of Jamil’s project restart.

Jamil took charge at a precarious moment for the national team after its 0-1 loss to Hong Kong in the second Asian Cup qualifier and couldn’t conjure any quick fix in the Asian Cup qualifiers, despite guiding it to a third-place finish in the CAFA Nations Cup.

Lack of league football, or rather the uncertainty around it, only worsened the state of affairs.

Jamil would know more than many that progress in Indian football takes longer than usual, especially when the team is languishing at 141st in the FIFA rankings and matches are struggling to fill stadiums. But his selection ticks quite a few boxes.

Newer faces and stress on wing play

Bharti, a tall (185 cm), 27-year-old centre-back, who is currently playing for Bolivian top-flight side Academia del Balompié Boliviano, will be assessed by Jamil before the coach decides on his inclusion, but Jamil’s intention for fresh legs is evident.

It is understood that the coach also wanted 19-year-old Muhammad Suhail to be part of the squad, a player who had turned heads with his wonder goal against Bahrain in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers. However, having recuperated from a shoulder injury, he was advised a longer rest period.

From a pool that doesn’t include key under-23 and under-20 players, who will be playing friendlies separately, the former Aizawl and Jamshedpur FC manager has opted for a mix of age and experience, also choosing specific players for particular styles of play.

The inclusions of Nikhil Poojary (returning to the squad after nearly two years), Abhishek Singh Tekcham and Roshan Singh Naorem, while leaving out Muhammad Uvais and Jay Gupta, indicate a clear shift in Jamil’s plans from a defensive, conservative approach to a sharper, aggressive one.

Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary, Liston Colaco and Ashique Kuruniyan also strengthen the same belief: free-flowing wings.

The midfield trio of Sahal Abdul Samad, Lalengmawia Ralte and Jeakson Singh provides an option for a multi-pronged approach that shifts from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1. However, this could also be a limitation should injuries happen.

The previous squad had six midfielders, this has just four.

Debut for Williams?

Jamil stands at a historic point in Indian football. Williams, a foreign-born striker, gave up his passport to play for India.

The Bengaluru FC forward became an Indian citizen late last year but had been awaiting a nod from FIFA to play for the country, one that has finally arrived.

The former Portsmouth and Barnsley forward has 14 goals and five assists for Bengaluru FC over three seasons and scored in India’s closed-door friendly against Bhutan, which ended in a 6-1 win for the Blue Tigers in November 2025.

Wearing the No. 11 jersey, previously donned by India’s record goalscorer Sunil Chhetri, Williams could become the first naturalised player since Arata Izumi to feature for India — a trend that could inspire more foreign-born Indians to tread that path.

Jamil’s biggest challenge

Despite plenty of positives, Jamil stands on a barren theatre: there is nothing at stake in terms of competition.

The Indian team has nosedived below the 140-rank mark in FIFA after 10 years and the men’s senior football project looks dead for the next 15 months or so, until the dates for the next World Cup and Asian Cup cycles are announced.

It is here that Jamil will have the biggest demons to battle. India’s downward spiral, from winning three trophies in a year and entering the top 100 in 2023 to the present morass, has left little hope among Indian football fans for better days.

The match against Hong Kong may be without stakes, but it could just be the first opportunity for Jamil to build a new narrative brick by brick. And given his antics with Aizawl and Jamshedpur, he might just look at his watch, blow the whistle and get on with his job, one match at a time.

Published on Mar 25, 2026