Kochi: Ryan Williams and Akash Mishra scored in each half of the match as India prevailed over Hong Kong 2-1, to end their AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round Group C campaign on a high at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. With this, India recorded their first win at Kochi.
Early strikes from debutant Williams and a second-half goal by left-back Mishra ensured the Blue Tigers secured their first win of the qualifying campaign. India ended their campaign on five points, with a win, two draws, and three losses. Singapore topped the group with 14 points to seal qualification for the Asian Cup.
Head Coach Khalid Jamil handed a much-awaited debut to Ryan Williams, while Bijoy Varghese also made his first India appearance off the bench.
India made a perfect start to the game, with Ryan Williams marking his debut with a goal in the fourth minute. A swift transition down the right flank saw a well-timed pass by Abhishek Singh Tekcham release Manvir Singh, who squared the ball for Williams to tap it past the goalkeeper and open the scoring.
It was also the fastest goal scored by a debutant for India, surpassing the previous record of sixth-minute strikes by K Appalaraju against Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in a pre-Olympics match in Colombo in 1963 and Mehtab Hossain against Nepal in the 2005 SAFF Cup in Karachi.
The home side played with confidence after taking the lead, enjoying the majority of possession and looking assured on the ball and dictating the tempo.
