Australia-born Ryan Williams scores on India debut as hosts beat Hong Kong 2-1 in Asian Cup qualifiers

Ryan Williams marked his India debut with a goal as India beat Hong Kong 2-1 in an inconsequential Asian Cup qualifying round match on Tuesday, even though both sides were already out of contention.Williams scored in the fourth minute, finishing a low cross from Manvir Singh. It was also the fastest goal scored by a debutant for India, surpassing the previous record of sixth-minute strikes by K Appalaraju against Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in a pre-Olympics match in Colombo in 1963 and Mehtab Hossain against Nepal in the 2005 SAFF Cup in Karachi. Akash Mishra added India’s second goal in the 50th minute, which was also his first at the international level.Everton Camargo scored for Hong Kong in the 65th minute.With this result, India finished their campaign with five points from one win and two draws, ending at the bottom of Group C. Singapore, who beat Bangladesh 1-0 earlier in the day, topped the group with 14 points from six matches and qualified for the 2027 Asian Cup.India had earlier lost 0-1 to Hong Kong in the first leg on June 10 last year in Kowloon.Williams was added to the squad after FIFA cleared his change of association, allowing the 31-year-old winger to represent India.

He had earlier attended a preparatory camp for the Bangladesh match but was not selected then due to pending documents.This was his first senior international match, as he had not played for Australia national football team at that level. He had represented Australia at youth level in the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship and the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.Currently playing for Bengaluru FC, Williams gave up his Australian passport last year to play for India.He was taken off in the 67th minute after limping off the field. Shortly after, Anwar Ali was also substituted following medical attention on the pitch.