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| Eyeing Asian Cup berth, India face Hong Kong in battle for top spot | | | AGENCIES
KOLKATA, June 13: A Sunil Chhetri-inspired India would look to end the final leg of the Asian Cup Qualifiers on a high when they face Hong Kong in a battle for the group D top spot here on Tuesday.
With two wins each, both teams have six points but Jon Anderson's side are ahead of the hosts on goal difference, and the match would determine the direct qualifiers for next year's 24-team continental finals.
Only the winners of the six qualifying groups are sure to advance to the tournament, where they will be joined by the five runners-up with the best records in the competition.
First place in the group would take the Blue Tigers into the finals for an unprecedented second successive time and fifth overall.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, are eyeing their first Asia Cup qualification since 1968.
Ranking wise India (106) may be ahead of Hong Kong (147) but the latter have displayed the best attacking and defensive play among the four group D teams so far in the competition.
While Hong Kong have easily outclassed their respective opponents, India have stuttered along.
After a patchy show against Cambodia, where Chhettri scored a double, it took an injury-time winner by Abdul Sahal Samad to seal three points.
After Chhetri had seen his 86th minute free-kick cancelled out two minutes later by Zubayr Amiri's header, Sahal sealed three points.
Notably, even if any of the two teams go on to lose or draw, they can still qualify as one of the five best second-placed teams.
A second-place finish would leave them waiting for results in other groups to determine whether they would take one of the five best runners-up spots.
As for the team news, the Blue Tigers have been on the job with Chhetri leading from the front with three goals from the first two matches.
With 83 International goals in his pocket, Chhetri would look to close in on Argentine maestro Lionel Messi (86).
The Kerala Blasters striker's stoppage-time winner would mean that the Indian coach Igor Stimac would have a "happy headache" in picking the starting XI.
It remains to be seen whether the Croatian World Cup semifinalist brings him in the starting line-up.
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