FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC football qualifiers: India lose 3-0 to Asian champions Qatar 

The Indian men’s football team suffered a 3-0 defeat against Qatar in the Group A match of the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

Mustafa Meshaal (4’), Almoez Ali (47’) and Yusuf Abdurisag  (86’) scored for the visitors while India had a good phase at the end of the first half but fell short of matching the quality produced by the Asian champions Qatar. 

The loss keeps India in second place on the Group A points table with one win and one loss. Kuwait and Afghanistan will play their second games in the group against each other later in the day in Dammam. The defeat also ended India’s 15-match unbeaten run on home soil.

The Indian football team, who got its campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 away win over Kuwait last week, made five changes to their starting XI. 

Amrinder Singh, stepping in for Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the goal, was put under pressure immediately. A misdirected pass from the Indian goalkeeper landed at the feet of Almoez Ali. Nonetheless, the final shot taken from Akram Afif missed the target.

Qatari forwards exploited the Indian backline and got their opener two minutes later. Multiple failed clearances by India after a Qatar corner eventually fell to Mustafa Meshaal, who fired a low shot into the bottom corner to give his side a 1-0 lead. 

Qatar won many corners thereafter but wasted all their chances and the scoreline remained the same at the end of the first half. 

India gained a foothold after the first half hour. As the match progressed, the hosts increased the number of passes into the box and helped their forwards, including captain Sunil Chhetri, get a few shots at scoring the equaliser.

Lalengmawia Ralte and Udanta Singh looked confident on the ball and played a crucial role in the midfield. Their consistent deliveries into the box led to an error from the Qatari defence in the 42nd minute. However, Anirudh Thapa missed his opportunity and shot it wide of the goal as India’s best chance of the match went begging.

Despite a promising end to the first by India, the hosts were pegged back right at the start of the second half. Akram Afif, who troubled the Indian defence with his speed, had his shot saved by Amrinder Singh in the 47th minute. However, Almoez Ali netted in the rebound in front of the goal, extending the lead to 2-0.

Qatar dominated the match from there on and did not allow Indian forwards to make any inroads. The visitors tripled their lead in the 86th minute through Yusuf Abdurisag’s header and saw off the remaining period with ease. 

The Indian men’s football team will resume qualifiers with home and away fixtures against Afghanistan in March before playing Kuwait and Qatar in reverse fixtures later in 2024. 

The top two teams from the group will qualify for the third qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and earn a direct entry in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia.