India Defeated by Qatar in World Cup Qualifier

The audience continued to encourage the players, Arsene Wenger was watching avidly from the Box, and the drumbeats would not cease. However, the final script remained the same.

As anticipated, the 2026 World Cup qualifier was lopsided from the beginning. On a steamy Tuesday night at Kalinga Stadium in this city, Qatar, who is much more proficient technically and physically, dominated India.

If the 2019 Asian Cup winners had scored on every opportunity they had in the opening forty-five minutes or if surprise addition Amrinder Singh hadn't made several excellent stops under the crossbar, the 3-0 outcome may have been much more painful. Five or six more may have been possible. The assault was so intense that Qatar had already earned eight corners in thirty minutes!

Yusuf Abdurisag scored the third goal in the 86th minute, Almoez Ali extended the advantage a minute after the change of ends, and Mustafa Meshaal scored the first as early as the fourth minute.

Igor Stimac, the Indian coach, rested five players from the match against Kuwait. In addition to Amrinder replacing Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the normal goalie, Subhasish Bose, who had been replaced by Akash Mishra as the left defender, was given a chance to play.

Udanta Singh, a perennial underachiever, was also given a start. Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte were both brought back to the starting lineup.

India's last competitive game before the AFC Asian Cup, which begins on January 12, was this one. When his players are pushed into the cauldron, Stimac wants to see how they respond. Amrinder and Subhasish had strong debuts, while Udanta hardly made an impression. And Stimac was open at the press conference held after the game. "He needs to go back to the club and put in a lot of work." Great promise, but more work is needed," he said.

There were instances when India had the opportunity to score. Anirudh Thapa had a clean chance at the goal but missed, leaving the score at 1-0. The game could have been more engaging with the equalizer.

In the sixty-third minute, Sahal Abdul Samad, Thapa's replacement, grabbed hold of a ball that a Qatari defender had mishandled. Sahal attempted to finish at the far post inside the box when he had the option to play to Sunil Chhetri or Naorem Mahesh Singh. India has to use these opportunities to counter formidable adversaries like Qatar. Perhaps they will shortly.

Let's talk about the objectives now. After complete disarray in the Indian defenders, Mustafa Meshaal found himself inside the box and hammered in the first goal.

A minute into the second half came the second. After finding Akam Afif, Boualem Khouki dinked the ball inside the area. Amrinder stopped his shot, but Almoez Ali was in the correct location and the goalie was unable to retain the ball.

Yousuf Abdurisag headed in after Mohammed Waad Albayati brought in a cross from the left. The visitors win three points and lose none.

On March 21 and 26, 2024, India will play two consecutive games against Afghanistan to start their campaign anew.

India and Kuwait both earned three points after defeating Afghanistan 4-0 in the other group match.

On goal differential, India is now third.

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