India, Oct. 15 -- Khalid Jamil inherited a qualifying campaign gone awry and could not repair it in two matches against Singapore. On the balance of play home and away, Singapore deserved the results (1-1; 2-1). It meant India could not achieve the "bare minimum" - which is what qualification to the Asian Cup finals has been defined by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan. For the first time since it became a 24-team competition in 2019, India were not good enough for a seat at continental football's high table.

Not being able to make it to Saudi Arabia in 2027 is a low that is on a par with being blanked out of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, the series defeat to Pakistan and the tour of Fiji where India played four and ...