India’s wait for a first win against Afghanistan continued as their final group stage match of the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup ended in a 0-0 draw. Despite the stalemate, Khalid Jamil’s side sealed second place in the group with four points, edging past Tajikistan on head-to-head record. This result ensured India a place in the third-place playoff on September 8, a respectable outcome in their debut campaign under new coach Jamil.

India started brightly with Ashique Kuruniyan, Irfan Yadwad and Mahesh Singh pressing high, but clear chances were rare. Yadwad wasted two golden opportunities, slipping during one attempt and later misfiring with space inside the box. Ashique also came close, but Afghan goalkeeper Faisal Hamidi reacted quickly to deny him.

In the second half, substitutes Manvir Singh and Vikram Partap Singh injected energy but failed to break Afghanistan’s compact defence. The Afghans grew into the game and nearly stole victory when Yama Sherzad’s powerful effort was superbly tipped onto the crossbar by India’s captain and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Afghanistan pushed hard late on, but Gurpreet stood firm to ensure India earned a valuable draw. The result capped a solid group-stage run for India, highlighted by their earlier win over Tajikistan.