{"id":46295,"date":"2026-03-30T19:26:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=46295"},"modified":"2026-03-30T19:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:59:58","slug":"asian-cup-qualifier-ryan-williams-set-for-india-debut-as-blue-tigers-face-hong-kong-on-march-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/asian-cup-qualifier-ryan-williams-set-for-india-debut-as-blue-tigers-face-hong-kong-on-march-31\/","title":{"rendered":"AFC Asian Cup qualifiers: Ryan Williams set for India debut as Blue Tigers face Hong Kong on March 31"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kochi is set to witness an important moment for Indian football as the <strong>Blue Tigers<\/strong> take on Hong Kong in their final AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifier on Tuesday. While the campaign has been disappointing for India, all eyes will be on Australian-born winger <strong>Ryan Williams,<\/strong> who is expected to make his much-anticipated debut.<\/p>\n<p>Having already been eliminated from qualification, India will now aim to salvage pride and secure crucial FIFA ranking points. The match, to be held at the <strong>Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,<\/strong> also marks the return of international football to Kochi after nearly a decade, adding excitement for local fans known for their passionate support.<\/p>\n<p>Williams\u2019 inclusion represents a fresh chapter for Indian football. The 32-year-old winger, born in Perth, switched allegiance in late 2025 through his <strong>Anglo-Indian roots<\/strong>. With experience across clubs like Portsmouth, Fulham, Oxford United, and Perth Glory, along with his stint at <strong>Bengaluru FC,<\/strong> his presence could inject much-needed creativity into India\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n<p>Midfielder <strong>Lalengmawia Ralte<\/strong>, popularly known as Apuia, will also be key. In the absence of injured <strong>Nikhil Prabhu,<\/strong> Apuia has stepped up, carrying impressive form from his club performances. Alongside experienced names like <strong>Sahal Abdul Samad<\/strong> and <strong>Ashique Kuruniyan<\/strong>, India will look to end their campaign on a positive note.<\/p>\n<p>However, the team enters the match amid off-field concerns, after head coach <strong>Khalid Jamil <\/strong>and players were briefly denied entry to the stadium due to a payment issue, later resolved by the <strong>All India Football Federation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hong Kong,<\/strong> led by <strong>Ashley Westwood<\/strong>, come into the fixture in strong form losing just once in their last 12 matches. They will be confident of repeating their earlier 1-0 win over India.<\/p>\n<p>Kick-off is scheduled for <strong>7 PM<\/strong>, with India aiming to avoid finishing the qualifiers without a victory and give fans a performance to cheer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kochi is set to witness an important moment for Indian football as the Blue Tigers take on Hong Kong in\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":502,"featured_media":46298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2061,1017,5045],"class_list":["post-46295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-afc-asian-cup","tag-indian-football","tag-ryan-williams"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/502"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46295"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46308,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46295\/revisions\/46308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}