Kolkata: Manolo Marquez will hope to keep India on track for an unprecedented third successive Asian Cup finals berth when they face hosts Hong Kong in Tuesday’s qualifier, which could be his last match as head coach. A win would be the ideal way to end his short India stint but for that Marquez’s men will have to do what no Indian team has since 1957 – win in Hong Kong.

All four teams in Group C, from where only the winners will qualify to the 2027 Asian Cup, have one point following 0-0 draws. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced a bonus of $50,000 should India win at the stadium in Kai Tak Sports Park which will be inaugurated with this match. The last time the teams met in 2022, India won 4-0 in Kolkata.

Appointed last August, Marquez continued as FC Goa and India head coach till May 31. From June 1 to May 31, 2026, Marquez is on contract only as India coach but has said he would not like to continue, according to officials at AIFF, Goa Football Association and FC Goa. The officials requested anonymity given the sensitive nature of the issue.

Having won the Super Cup with them, Marquez is likely to continue as FC Goa coach.

India have won only one of their seven matches under Marquez, four of them including the qualifier against Bangladesh ending in draws. To prepare for the Hong Kong tie, India played Thailand last week and lost 0-2. Marquez, 56, did not want to make much of that saying on Monday that “coaches are not worried about scores in friendly games”.

India have trained nearly three weeks for this match. “Our preparations have been much better this time, if we compare with the previous FIFA windows where you practically don’t have too much time,” said Marquez, who won the Indian Super League cup with Hyderabad FC in 2021-22. In defence, Anwar Ali has recovered from fever leaving only Subhasish Bose unavailable due to injury.

Under Ashley Westwood, the former Bengaluru FC, Punjab FC and ATK coach, Hong Kong prepared for this match with a 1-3 defeat against Manchester United and a 0-0 draw against Nepal. Hong Kong drew 0-0 against Singapore in their first match of the qualifying campaign. Unlike India, they have naturalised players born in Brazil, Spain and Japan.

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