With a game to spare, India have finished bottom of their AFC Asian Cup qualifying group after a 1-0 defeat to Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday. The result means that India are now three points behind their neighbours, and even if they win their last group game against Hong Kong in March 2026, they will be behind Bangladesh on head-to-head.
This was Bangladesh's first win over India in 22 years, since they last beat them 2-1 at Dhaka in 2003.
The lone goal of the game came from a combination of brilliant Bangladeshi counter-attacking and lackadaisical Indian defending. In the 11th minute, Centre-forward Rakib Hossein, who was arguably the man of the match, squared up Akash Mishra down the Indian right flank on a counter, raced past him before holding off him and Nikhil Prabhu to poke a ball into the box. With Gurpreet Singh Sandhu hesitating, 19-year-old Shekh Morsalin raced in and gently lifted a nonchalant finish over Gurpreet's legs and into the goal.
That first half of the match, played out in front of a boisterous, jampacked National Stadium, was commanded by Hamza Choudhary who appeared to be everywhere. One minute he was heading away a Lallianzuala Chhangte off the line, the other he was lining up a difficult chest-and-volley chance at the edge of the Indian box. India looked drab in the first half, with a cautious midfield selection playing right into the hands of the deep sitting, counterattacking Bangladesh strategy.
The second half was livened up by the introduction of Mahesh Singh from the off and debutant Mohammed Sanan a while later. The latter, especially, was at the heart of any good attacking move India pulled off in the second 45, but the attack lacked the edge to make their enhanced possession and chance creation count. Mahesh had a shot that whizzed wide, while Bheke did the same with a powerful header while Sanan saw a smart shot saved well by the busy Mitul Marma in Bangladesh's goal. Those three were the closest India got, though, to making a dent on the scoreboard.
The reaction of the fans and players at the end of the match showed just how much this long-awaited win meant to the nation. For their opponents, meanwhile, this was yet another misstep in what is turning out to be one of the worst years in Indian footballing history.
You can relive the action as-it-happened in our live blog, below: