The Indian football team is now bottom of their four-team Group B with zero points after suffering two setbacks in the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Australia, ranked 25th in the world, tops the table with six points after wins against Syria and India. With four points, Uzbekistan, who defeated India 3-0 on Thursday, is currently second in the group. Syria also held them to a scoreless tie. After the second round of games, Syria has only one point and is now ranked third in the group.
In addition to being badly humiliated by Uzbekistan, India lost 2-0 against Australia.
India will play Syria in the next and last round of group games on January 23, while Australia will play Uzbekistan on the same day. India has little chance of finishing in the top two, with Australia and Uzbekistan currently at six and four points, respectively.
The top two teams from each of the six groups will automatically advance to the Round of 16, under the AFC Asian Cup 2023 format. The remaining four sides will be the four best third-placed teams. The current goal for India is to come third in the group. In any case, even that won’t ensure a spot in the round of 16.
Finishing third does not ensure progress, since not all third-placed teams will go to the last 16. The qualifying will be determined by how the other third-place teams perform, and the top four will go to the final 16. This will become obvious once all group matches are completed.