India are set to take on Hong Kong in an AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiying game after Manolo Marquez’s side suffered a 0-2 defeat to Thailand in an international friendly last week. The Blue Tigers failed to capitalise on the chances they got - 18 attempts but none of them were on target. Benjamin Davis and Poramet Arjvirai scored the goals for Thailand.

Ahead of the Hong Kong game, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced prize money for the team to motivate the players. According to Khel Now, the AIFF Executive Committee has approved a cash bonus of around Rs 43 lakh for the Indian football team if they defeat Hong Kong in the upcoming Asian Cup qualifier at Kai Tak Stadium in Kowloon.

Hong Kong are managed by Ashley Westwood, the former Bengaluru FC head coach. The Englishman has a solid record against the Blue Tigers, having registered a win and a draw against them while managing Afghanistan in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

However, it will be interesting to see whether the Indian team can beat Hong Kong or not after the announcement of the incentives. Slotted in Group C, India are currently third in the group of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers with one point from one game.

India have reached Hong Kong with a 25-member squad after goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari, defender Mehtab Singh and full-back Subhasish Bose were sent back home. Subhasish was ruled out of the Thailand match with an injury. As he has not yet recovered from the injury, he has been ruled out of the Hong Kong game.

In terms of ranking, India are ranked 127th while Hong Kong are 153rd. Hong Kong started their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers with a goalless draw against Singapore and will look to make their home advantage count. The last time India met Hong Kong was in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers in 2022, when India won 4-0.

Sunil Chhetri, Anwar Ali, Ishan Pandita and Manvir Singh were on the scoresheet for the Blue Tigers. However, prior to that, Hong Kong won back-to-back fixtures against India in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Away from home, India defeated Hong Kong only once when they won 2-1 in a friendly in 1957.

AIFF’s latest move came at a time when Indian players have alleged that they have not yet received their bonus for the 2023-24 season. Besides this, several players have not yet received their dues, including unpaid match fees, daily allowances, and bonus amounts from the side’s three trophy-winning campaigns.