AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: India vs Macau – As it happened...

India look to grab yet another victory over Macau to book their spot in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 for the first time in six years.

PTI

Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of the return-leg fixture of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers between India and Macau. Join us for all the Live updates and match commentary from Bengaluru.

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Second Half (IND 4-1 Macau). The final whistle goes and India qualify for the AFC Asian Cup for the fourth time in a row and first time in six years and the unbeaten streak extends to 12 ina arow now for the Blue Tigers

'90+2 - Chhetri sets it up for Jeje and that's 4-1 for India

'90 - Three minutes of added time

'90 - Jeje makes a brilliant run, dribbles it past the keeper and....flag goes up. Just not his day today, it seems. 

'88 - Jejeeee......misses an open opportunity inside the box 

'78 - Salam Ranjan Singh all set to make his debut as he replaces Edathodika 

'75 - Hosts now 15 minutes away from receiving a final confirmation for their spot in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, unless Macau pull off  some sort of a miracle in Bengaluru

'69 -  Narzary makes a cross and....what was that? Own goal scored by Macau defender. Disappointing for the tourists, but India will take that one surely

'65 - Another change made by Constantine – Rafique in for Borges

'60- Balwant on the right, makes his way through, curls in a pass. Chhetri there in and puts it home.....GOOOOOAAALLL!! 2-1 for India

'56 - Lyngdoh with another stunner of a corner, Jhinghan finds it with a ravishing leap and...what a save by the Macau goalkeeper

'55 - Lyngdoh curls in a corner but Jeje fails to capitalise on the opportunity

'50 - Macau make a confident start into the second-half of the game with few repeated attacks. 

Second half is underway as super-sub Balwant Singh steps in 

First Half (IND 1 - 1 MAC at half-time)

'45 - Just a minute of added time. Macau will be the happier team if it stays 1-1. India will rue the defensive lapse after Borges put the hosts ahead.

'40 - Constantine in serious discussion with one of his assistants. The rain has completely stopped.

'36 - Equaliser! Defensive lapse costs India dear. It's their first goal of the tournament as Nicholas Tarrao was left unmarked on the cross and headed the ball in.

'32 - India No. 20 tries to beat the 'keeper with a lobbed header, but not much on it and no trouble for the Macau custodian, who leaps up to catch the ball.

'28 - Goal ! Borges breaks the deadlock, assisted by Jeje in the box off a cross from the left flank. The ball deflected off Macau No. 14 to leave the 'keeper wrong-footed. India are ahead 1-0.

'24 - Nice long ball from goalkeeper Gurpreet. Jeje gets to it, but the final touch was poor.

India haven't scored any goal in the first half of the ongoing AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Can they change the trend?

'20 - Foul against India and a free-kick just outside the box. Chhetri goes for it but does not get the dip he sought on the ball. Still goal-less.

'16 - Free kick to Macau in an interesting position as India form a four-man wall to obstruct. Macau No. 4 tries to go through a whole in the wall but way off target. Danger averted. 

'12 - India's No. 14 Borges goes for a long-range shot but way over the crossbars. 

'8 - Water splashing out of the pitch now, making ball movement and the game sluggish. Aerial balls could be the order of the day. 

'4 - Chance for Sunil but the Macau 'keeper converged on the ball just in time to deny the Indian skipper.

'2 - The rain is hammering down in Bengalurur now as Sandesh Jhingan got a look-in at Macau goal but couldn't do much with it.

The game has been kicked off. Remember, India need a win or a draw to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup.

7:25 p.m. The teams have lined up for National Anthems. India in their customary blue, led by Sunil Chhetri, and Macau in their traditional green. 

This is how we start. #INDvMAC #BackTheBlue #AsianDream #MissionMacau pic.twitter.com/ErAjwvQSwP — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 11, 2017

One Nation. One Dream. #INDvMAC #BackTheBlue #AsianDream #MissionMacau pic.twitter.com/XFKJRqeCD4 — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 11, 2017

Superman @GurpreetGK is gearing up for #INDvMAC #BackTheBlue #AsianDream #MissionMacau pic.twitter.com/fl6zlCtbjF

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 11, 2017

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QUICK PREVIEW

New Delhi: India are all set to grab yet another victory over Macau when the two teams lock horns at the Sree Kanteerva stadium in Bengaluru, today in a bid to finally book their spot in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 after missing out on the last tournament. (IND vs MAC – Match Preview)

Football is definitely in the air. After a ravishing, yet heart-breaking performance by the India U-17 squad in the ongoing FIFA tournament in the country, it time for India's senior footballers to step forth and show their potential to the home crowd.

The Blue Tigers are so far on a winning spree in their qualifiers campaign – 1-0 against Myanmar, 1-0 against the Kyrgyz Republic and 2-0 against Macau. In fact, they sit atop on their group with nine points. A win today will assure them of a spot in the 2019 Asain Cup after missing out on the 2011 campaign.

"We need to open them up. I think we were a bit static in the first half of our away game in Macau and it helped them. We cannot afford to repeat the same mistake," India coach Stephen Constantine said.

What would, in fact, turn interesting for the Indian football fans is whether 'super'-substitute Balwant Singh will finally get a full-time start. In their last encounter with Macau on September 5, he came off the bench to score a brace and hand India a 2-0 victory. Prior to that, he had done a similar in the Tri-Nation series.