India face Afghanistan in crucial CAFA Nations Cup clash

India face Afghanistan in a decisive CAFA Nations Cup 2025 clash in Hisor, Tajikistan, on Thursday, with playoff qualification at stake. Coach Khalid Jamil insists India are focused only on winning

Hyderabad: Qualification for the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 Playoff Stage is on the line, as India take on Afghanistan in their last match of Group B at the Hisor Central Stadium in Hisor, Tajikistan, on Thursday.

The Blue Tigers have played two matches so far, winning one against Tajikistan (2-1) and losing one to IR Iran (0-3). They are tied on three points with Tajikistan but are ahead by virtue of a better head-to-head record.

---

The top teams from each group will progress to the final, while the two second-placed teams will make it to the third-place match, both to be held on September 8.

As things stand, India need a win against Afghanistan and also hope Tajikistan does not win against Iran to progress. A draw against Afghanistan may also be enough if Iran avoid defeat against Tajikistan. However, a loss would result in elimination, as Tajikistan would then have the better goal difference among the three teams tied on three points (Tajikistan, India, Afghanistan).

India head coach Khalid Jamil, however, dismissed such permutations ahead of the crucial tie.

“We are not thinking of all such scenarios at this point. There is no point to it. We will go into the game looking for a win. It’s as simple as that,” Jamil told the-aiff.com.

India’s victory against hosts Tajikistan in their opener was their first competitive win since November 2023. While the 0-3 defeat to Iran may suggest otherwise, Jamil praised his side’s effort.

“We are all sad that we played so well in the first half, and then things did not click for us in the second. I’ll be the first to accept I made a mistake with the substitution, and they managed to score after it. But this is a learning curve for both players and coach. We will take it in our stride,” Jamil said.

He added:

“I must commend my players for doing everything I asked of them. They showed great attitude against a team of much higher quality. At the end, the scoreline was not fair. We did not deserve to lose 0-3.”

India (133rd in FIFA rankings) hold the upper hand against Afghanistan (161st), with 13 wins, while Afghanistan have only two victories; seven matches have ended in draws.

The last meeting, however, saw India lose 1-2 in Guwahati in World Cup qualifiers last year. India’s last win over Afghanistan was a 2-1 success in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata three years ago.

“Afghanistan is a good side, so we cannot take them lightly. They have a chance, and they will definitely play hard against us,” Jamil cautioned. “We’ve had less time to recover, so we need to be at our best. Those who have not had much game time so far need to be ready, as we might need them to give their 100 per cent.”

India, however, will miss centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, who, along with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Rahul Bheke, was named one of the three captains for the tournament.

The match will be streamed live on FanCode.