FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying: India's campaign ends after a 2-1 loss to Qatar
FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying: In the first half, Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the lone goal for India. After six games, the Indian football team managed just one victory, placing them third in Group A.
Ankush Pandey
In its final Group A encounter on Tuesday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, the Indian men's football team lost 2-1 against the defending Asian champions Qatar, thus eliminating them from the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
India could not advance to the third round, finishing third in Group A with just one win from six matches. Joining table-toppers Qatar, Kuwait advanced to the next round of the qualifiers after beating Afghanistan 1-0 on the last matchday.
World rank of 34 After India, ranked 121st in the international football rankings, took the lead through a goal from Lallianzuala Chhangte (37'), Qatar rallied from behind. Yousef Aymen (73') and Ahmed Al-Rawi (85') in the second half gave the hosts a late comeback.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the custodian, had to make a big stop in less than two minutes after being called into action while wearing the captain's armband. Throughout the first fifteen minutes, Gurpreet was occupied as the Qatari football team made progress.
As the half-hour mark approached, Manvir Singh put India in a one-on-one scenario with the opponent keeper, but he was unable to complete it. When Lallianzuala Chhangte got the ball, she was unable to take advantage of the opportunity either.
At last, the visitors finally recognized their superiority and registered a point. Chhangte met a low cross from the flank from Brandon Fernandes, and his touch went past Shehab Ellethy, the custodian for Qatar, and into the net.
Nine minutes into the second half, Mehtab Singh was called upon to make a pivotal save as the Qatari football team mounted a fierce attack to tie the score.
Yousef Aymen scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute to give the home team a lead again.
Ten minutes later, Jay Gupta and Liston Colaco gave Igor Stimac's team an opportunity to take the lead again, but the hosts were able to end the game soon after with another goal.
In the 83rd minute, Ahmed Al-Rawi gave the reigning Asian champions the lead after several wasted opportunities. Even though they gave it their all in the last few minutes, India was unable to equalize.
