Indian football coach Khalid Jamil walked into the room casually. He spoke the way he always does short sentences, few words, but full of conviction and belief. India’s AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers campaign is hanging by a thread. A win for Hong Kong against Bangladesh would end India’s hopes if the Blue Tigers fail to beat Singapore at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Tuesday.
Khalid Jamil demands positivity in must-win match
The 1-1 draw away against lower-ranked Singapore has left India with no choice. Sitting in the press room near the pitch, Khalid Jamil made his message clear. “In football, you can’t look at the FIFA rankings,” Jamil said. “We have to think positively. They’re a good side, they played very well at their home ground and it was difficult to beat them. But this time it’s our home ground. We’ll try to do our best, stay positive, and go for a positive result.”
Jamil, known for crisis management, now needs a win. He wants his team to attack from the start. “We must belief that we can win. I feel that we must have positive thinking, and anything can happen in football. We are thinking about tomorrow’s game that’s the most important. Go step by step.”
On the return of Subhasish Bose and Apuia, he said, “We required them, especially Subhashish. We don’t have another left-centre back after Sandesh Jhingan’s red card. Apuia, I think, deserved to be back because of his experience. I’ve seen his game, it was good, and we felt this was the right time to use him.”
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Asked about Sunil Chhetri’s future, Jamil stayed focused. “I’m thinking about tomorrow’s game,” he said. “We need him tomorrow. After that, we’ll talk about it later.”
Jamil admitted his error in starting inexperienced players. “They played very good, according to the instructions I gave. But the control wasn’t good enough on the field, so I made an early change in the second half.”
He ended with a message to fans. “Yes, I’m expecting fans to come and support India. This is our country. We must support our team, and the more we get, the better for us.”
